


I don't wanna date anyone

by JenJo



Series: IDWDA [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputee Bucky Barnes, Christmas, Coffee Shops, Deaf Clint Barton, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Longest slow burn fic everrrr, M/M, Model!Bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6256384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenJo/pseuds/JenJo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint Barton lives on the seventh floor of his apartment building with his dog. A misunderstanding leaves him requiring a boyfriend.<br/>Enter James Barnes, International model home after five years abroad. Fate gives James the wrong key, meaning he needs a place to stay until the landlord comes back.<br/>What a coincidence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coincidences drive the plot

**Author's Note:**

> Based on an 'imagine your otp' from egobuzz on Tumblr.
> 
> Features Text messages, bolded, in the format:  
> " From: (superhero name)(time)  
> To: (recepient)  
> [body of message]"  
> Italics indicate Clint's thoughts.

 

**From: Black Widow (5.34pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Reminder: Cards are to be sent out at Seven. Digital is acceptable. Regular rules apply. Photoshop is BANNED. No one wants a repeat of last year.]

 

**From: Black Widow (5.35pm)**

**To: Hawkeye.**

[Have you done it yet?]

 

Looking at his vibrating phone, Clint replied instantly, pausing in his creation of a fresh pot of coffee. His group of friends learnt quickly that replying to Natasha promptly was the best way to make sure that she didn’t turn up at your place at four am to check on you, because you accidently forgot to reply to her that one time.

(Okay, truth was  _ he  _ had learnt the lesson, and passed on what he had learnt.)

**From: Hawkeye (5.35pm)**

**To: Black Widow.**

[course.]

 

**From: Black Widow (5.37pm)**

**To: Hawkeye.**

[I don’t believe you.]

 

Clint rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t,” he muttered as he typed out a reply. “No one believes me. I can remember things sometimes. Just because I’m lying right now, doesn’t mean that I’m untrustworthy.”

 

**From: Hawkeye (5.38pm)**

**To: Black Widow.**

[youl see we look great i’m looking at it right now.]

 

After he sent the message, an alarm buzzed on his phone, reminding him to take his dog for a walk. 

“Lucky!” He called out, also knocking on the countertop three times, and the dog promptly ambled to Clint’s feet, leash in hand. Clint smiled down at his dog, clipping the leash on. Before doing anything else, Clint turned off his gas, putting the coffee pot aside to continue brewing when he got back. He then made his way out of the apartment, locking the door behind him. 

Once they were on the street, Clint pulled his phone out of his pocket to see that Natasha had replied to his message.

 

**From: Black Widow (5.39pm)**

**To: Hawkeye.**

[We? I can’t wait to meet this person. I look forward to seeing this photo.]

 

**From: Black Widow (5.40pm)**

**To: Hawkeye.**

[What is their name? Job? How long have you been seeing them?]

 

Clint blinked down at his phone, confusion on his face. He stopped walking; Lucky tugged on the leash once, before sitting at Clint’s feet. “What are you on about Nat?”

Just as he contemplated this, his phone began vibrating, Natasha’s face on the screen. He answered the call immediately.

**“Why aren’t you answering your messages?”**

Clint rolled his eyes, beginning to walk again. “I had to take Lucky for a walk. Besides, it’s been five minutes.”

**“Who is this mystery person that you have been secretly seeing, and is serious enough to warrant a place on the Christmas card?”**

_ No beating around the bush with her,  _ Clint thought before answering honestly. “What makes you think that I’m seeing anyone?”

**“You said, and I quote, ‘We look great’. Who is this ‘we’ Clint? And why haven’t I met them?”**

“Nat, I’ve been awake since three, you can’t take everything I say at face value. Besides, you’ve been out of town,” Clint answered tersely, without completely thinking about his answer.

**“I have. And I am sorry for that.”** Natasha sounded sorry, and it made Clint feel slightly bad for being terse with her.  **“But not even a text message to your best friend to say you’re seeing someone?”**

Clint sighed, pausing to let Lucky sniff a fire hydrant. “It… Wait, what? I’m-”  _ Not seeing anyone,  _ he wanted to say, but Natasha continued to talk.

**“I look forward to seeing the photo Clint. I’ll see you on Saturday.”**

“Saturday?”

**“Our annual ‘Three weeks before Christmas’ Christmas party?”**

“Right, right. Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

Clint shook his head at his phone, pocketing it again. “Well done Barton,” he said to himself, before tugging at Lucky. “Come on, let’s get home so I can sort out this mess.”

As they began to walk back home, a downpour of rain began.

“Aww, rain,” Clint mumbled as he began running, hoping to get back to the building before the rain did too much damage to his aides. He held his hands up, doing his best to cover his ears.

Clint made it back to the building without too much trouble, though his aides would have to be dried out once he was back in his apartment. He internally groaned at the ever-present sign hanging on the elevator:

{OUT OF ORDER. SCHEDULED FOR REPAIR}

_ Never gonna fix the futzin’ elevator, lying landlords _ , he thought to himself as he and Lucky began climbing the seven floors to his apartment.

There was a man trying to unlock the door opposite to Clint’s apartment. He was looking increasingly frustrated as the door wouldn’t open; a small suitcase lay on the ground by his feet.

“Hey, need a hand?” Clint called out. The man turned around, and Clint almost gasped in awe. _Almost_ being the key word. It was a close thing. The man looked _amazing_ ; brown hair hanging below his jaw, styled to stay out of his blue-grey eyes, wearing makeup that accentuated _all_ the best parts of his face, just shorter than Clint, and _muscles, man those muscles. It’s like the outfit was made to show off the muscles. And a leather jacket? That was just unfair._

Clint, who had been looking all over this man, made his way back to the stranger’s eyes, who no longer looked frustrated, but looked…  _ amused? _

“Did I zone out for a minute?” Clint asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

The stranger smiled. “I said I could use a hand. I think this door’s broken.”

_ Brooklyn? I thought that kind of accent had disappeared?  _ Clint stopped his thoughts before he zoned out again. He offered the stranger a smile, and turned to Lucky, who had been sitting at Clint’s feet.  Clint held out a hand to Lucky, who lay down on the ground, and Clint dropped the leash to the ground. He then held out a hand to the stranger. Once the stranger handed over the key, Clint sighed.

“Yeah, this isn’t the right key. You have the spare key to my apartment.”

“Well that’s awkward. I guess I’ll go and get it swapped now.”

“Yeah, that won’t work.” At the stranger’s raised eyebrow, Clint shrugged. “The landlord leaves at six. Won’t be back until Monday.”

“The landlord doesn’t live in the building?”

“Why do you think the elevator’s been broken for five years?”

“Five years?”

“Yeah. Luckily, the tenants look out for each other. We rearranged so that those who couldn’t walk up the stairs each day lived on the lower levels. The rent’s cheap; some of them don’t have many other options.”

“Okay. Uh, I guess I’ll go get a hotel for the night,” the stranger said, bending down to pick up his suitcase.

“You can stay at my place,” Clint blurted out before the man had straightened up again. 

“You’d offer me a place to stay without even knowing me?” The man asked, expression neutral.

_ I know you’re the hottest man I’ve ever seen _ . Clint smartly  _ didn’t  _ say that out loud, instead shrugging a shoulder. “You’re going to be my neighbour anyway. Why not?”

The man thought for a moment, looking away from Clint, before smiling. “Sure.”

“Okay then,” Clint clapped, which caused Lucky to sit up, ready to go. Clint gave him a pat and unclipped his leash, before turning around and unlocking the door to his apartment.

“It isn’t much, but they all have the same basic layout,” Clint explained as he closed the door behind everyone. He put Lucky’s leash on his table by the door, while Lucky went to his bed. The man stood next to Clint, waiting to follow him. “Hallway, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen/lounge,” Clint pointed as they made their way through the apartment. “I know it doesn’t look great, but it’s my home, you know?”

James looked around, before looking back to Clint. “Home is home.”

“Exactly. Coffee?”

“Thanks, it’s been a long day,” the man answered. Clint nodded in understanding.

“I know the feeling. Go sit on the couch, I promise it won’t bite,” Clint smiled, turning around to boil the pot of coffee again. The man sat down, putting the suitcase next to the couch. Clint took out his aides, putting them on his kitchen counter to dry out. Clint looked through his cupboards, but could only find the one mug. Which a shrug, he poured half the coffee into the mug, deciding to just use the pot.  _ Not like it’s the first time. _

Putting his aides back in, Clint carried the coffee to the couch, sitting down before offering the man the mug. The man looked strangely at the pot, before shrugging and drinking his coffee.

“So, my name is Clint,” Clint said, breaking the silence. He sat with one leg on the couch, facing the man. The man turned so that he could face Clint.

“James,” the man- James- replied, putting his mug on the table so that he could offer a hand to Clint, who shook it. 

“Nice to meet you James. What brings you to this lovely piece of paradise?”

“Paradise?” James echoed, shaking his head as he picked up the coffee again. “Wouldn’t call it paradise exactly. Now Paris, that’s paradise.”

“You live in Paris?”

“I’ve lived a lot of places,” James smiled at Clint. “I’m a model, spent the past five years traveling Europe.”

“I believe you,” at James’s questioning look, Clint waved his free hand at James. “You are stunning. If you weren’t a model, I’d tell you to become one.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“So, what brings you to America?”

James looked down at his knee on the couch, before looking back at Clint. “Homesick, I guess? Got an offer to do some magazine shoots around here, so I got a local apartment. Thought it would be nice to reconnect with some friends as well.”

“Makes sense,” Clint nodded. They fell into silence, drinking their coffee.

Clint’s phone vibrated in his pocket; he pulled it out, and groaned at the images he had been sent.

“Something wrong?” James asked. Clint offered him a half-smile.

“My friends have a tradition, where we send each other those Christmas photos. See who can have the most ridiculous one. Mostly, it’s our tradition. And I forgot to do one.”

“So do it now?” When Clint looked at him, James shrugged. “I know a thing or two about taking photos.”

Clint laughed. “I’m sure you do. Alright, what should I do?”

James put his mug down, and thought for a moment as he looked around the apartment. “Your television work?”

“Should.”

“You have a Christmas sweater?”

“Yep. Probably have a couple.”

James nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Go get the sweaters.”

When Clint returned from his bedroom, James had turned on his television, and had it displaying a fireplace. Clint smiled, looking at James who was patting Lucky.

“Show me the sweaters,” James stood up; Clint lay the three of them out on the kitchen counter. James pondered over them, with the eye of a man who knew what he was looking for.

“That one,” he pointed at a truly terrible one (lime green, blood red, checkered so small that it was a challenge just to look at it); Clint smiled, and put it on. “Can Lucky wear one?”

“Sure,” Clint smiled. James pointed at another one (ruby red, moss green), and Clint got Lucky into it. 

“Perfect match,” James commented, looking at Clint hugging Lucky. “Now, can you move the table? And line up the couch in front of the television?”

Clint, getting a sense of what James was trying to accomplish, smiled. “Certainly. I’ll need a hand though.”

Clint missed the quirk of James’s lips at the comment. Clint stood on one side of the table, and pointed to the kitchen. James nodded, and stood opposite Clint. He reached down, and only used his right hand to lift the table. Clint didn’t notice the use of one hand, he only noticed that James was strong.  _ Stronger than I am, anyway. Obviously, those muscles aren’t just for show. _

One they had done that, the pair dragged the couch around to sit in front of the television. At the right angle, it looked like a traditional country home. Clint smiled.

“Do you have a camera?” James asked; Clint offered him his phone.

“No actual camera?”

“I realise it isn't what you’re used to,” Clint admitted. James shook his head, and held out his hand for the phone.

“It’s not the camera that makes a photo great,” James said. “Sit on the couch with your dog.”

“Lucky,” Clint said, sitting on the couch and patting the cushion next to him. The dog jumped up, licking Clint’s cheek.

Clint didn’t hear the  _ click _ of his phone’s camera.

“Alright, wrap an arm around Lucky, and give me a ridiculously over the top smile.”

Clint laughed, shaking his head as he did as instructed.

“Alright,” James took the photo, before rearranging the pair on the couch. 

They took several photos, each getting more ridiculous. 

“Hey, I have a timer on my phone,” Clint said, after James handed him back his phone.

“Most phones do,” James answered. Clint rolled his eyes, and pointed at the spare sweater on the kitchen counter (the least garrish of the lot, a traditional red/green combo). 

“Come on,” Clint gave James his best impression of a puppy; James rolled his eyes, before going to put on the sweater.

Clint silently cheered, turning to pat Lucky. 

(He didn’t see James take off his leather jacket, and put on the sweater, one-handed.)

James returned, and held out his hand for the phone. He rigged up a tripod (out of his suitcase and a book Clint had lying around). James stood behind the tripod, and raised an eyebrow at Clint.

“Got an idea for what pose you want?”

Clint shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

James nodded. “Alright. I’ll set it to take three photos, ten seconds apart. Good?”

Clint smiled, sitting down on Lucky’s right side. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

James set the phone, and sat on Lucky’s other side, wrapping his arm around the dog. The pair put on their cheesiest smiles, as the phone ticked down the final seconds. The shutter sounded, taking the first photo.

James tapped on Clint’s shoulder, causing Clint to turn and look at him, eyebrow raised in question. The shutter sounded, taking a picture of the two looking into each other’s eyes. 

James leaned over the top of Lucky, putting his hand on Clint’s cheek. Before Clint could react, the shutter sounded, taking the third photo.

James pulled back, and stood up to retrieve the phone. Clint sat there, blinking at the spot where James was sitting.

Lucky sat there, tail wagging without a care in the world.

“Hey Clint,” James sat down on Clint’s other side, back in his leather jacket. “Clint.” 

Clint shook his head, and turned to look at James, who was holding out Clint’s phone. “I may be biased, but these look alright.”

Clint smiled, taking the phone and looking through the photos. “Wow, yeah. These are great. Thanks, I’ll send one now.”

“Make sure to choose one that captures your good side,” James commented as Clint opened a new message.

 

**From: Hawkeye. (7.30pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[ _ Attachment; 1 image _ ]

 

Clint put his phone in his pocket, and took the sweater off of Lucky. He was about to take his off when his phone began vibrating non-stop. Once he took the sweater off, throwing it towards his bedroom, he pulled out his phone. Clint blinked at the  _ volume _ of messages within a minute of sending the picture.

“Something wrong?” James asked. Clint shook his head, tapping his foot on the ground, Lucky’s signal to get off the couch. Lucky went into Clint’s bedroom.

“A rather large response to my picture,” Clint shuffled a bit further along the couch, giving James some space. “It was just a picture of me and Lucky, shouldn’t have garnered such a response. I send a variation on it every year”

He began reading the messages, realising his mistake.

 

**From: Iron Man. (7.31pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Who is  _ that _ ?]

 

**From: Iron Man. (7.31pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[And why is he so close to Clint?]

 

**From: Captain America. (7.32pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Nice photo. The guy looks familiar.]

 

**From: Hulk (7.32pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Lucky looks happy. Think Clint wins this year though]

 

**From: Black Widow. (7.33pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Clint wins. Well done, expect to meet this lovely man on Saturday]

 

**From: Iron Man. (7.34pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Yes, we must meet this man who has taken our dear little Hawk.]

 

Clint shook his head, dropping his phone to the ground and groaning as he threw his head back on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.

Clint shook his head, eyes closed. “I sent the wrong photo.”

“Oh?”

“I sent the one where it looks like you’re about to kiss me.”

“Oh. That could be bad.”

“Yeah. We’re having a party on Saturday, and they all expect to meet you.”

“Tell them the truth?”

Clint sat up at that, and shook his head. “No, not an option. Natasha already thought I was seeing someone, and no one will believe the truth. A man that looks like you just happens to be moving in across the hall, is given the wrong key, and I offer him sanctuary?” Clint shook his head again. “It’s unbelievable.”

James shrugged. “Well, when you put it like that.”

“Would you mind?”

“Mind what?”

“Pretending to be my boyfriend for an evening?”

James blinked, narrowing his eyes at Clint. “You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend for a party, so that you don’t have to admit your mistake to your friends?”

Clint began to look guilty, and rubbed his neck. “Well, when you put it like that… I’ll pay you.”

“What?”

“I’ll pay you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

James thought for a moment. “Tomorrow is Saturday.”

“So?”

“You think, after knowing each other for a day, we’ll be able to pretend to be in a relationship?”

Clint shrugged. “We really only have to fool Natasha. Everyone else will be distracted easily enough. Please?”

James sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. “You know what? Fine. I’ll do it.”

Clint sat up a bit straighter. “Really?”

James smiled. “I’m always up for fooling friends.”

Clint smiled wider. “Thank you so much. You have no idea.”

“I imagine so,” James said, before dropping the smile. “I guess we should get the obvious out of the way then.”

“What does that mean?” Clint asked, as James took off his jacket, revealing his missing forearm on the left side.

“I lost it a few years back,” James motioned with his right hand, before looking at Clint. “Don’t want to go into the details, but it’s something that you would know, being my boyfriend.”

Clint nodded, looking at James. “Of course. And no one will pry if you don’t want to; this group of friends, we understand pasts that aren’t great.”

“That’s good to know,” James nodded, putting the jacket back on. “Alright. We’ll go over some facts about each other tomorrow? I hate to be a buzzkill, but I’ve spent most of the past two days flying and travelling, and haven’t had much sleep.”

Clint nodded, standing up and turning off the television. “Right, right. Uh, you can have the bed if you want? I’m happy to sleep on the couch.”

James shook his head. “No, I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

“Okay,” Clint nodded, and turned to his bedroom to retrieve a blanket. “Sorry it’s not much; I don’t usually have guests over.”

“It’s fine,” James stood up, taking the blanket and putting it on the couch. Clint turned off the television.

“Right, I’ll go to the bathroom quick, then it’s all yours. Hot water should be fine, it you want a shower. Lucky won’t annoy you, he sleeps in my bedroom. Typically I get up at 8 on a Saturday. If you’re awake, I’ll be quiet. Anything else you need?”

James shook his head. “No, really, you’ve offered so much to a practical stranger.”

Clint shrugged, and offered James a smile. “A practical stranger who is my boyfriend.”

James laughed. “Yeah, that too.”

“Alright,” Clint went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, went to the toilet, then came back out. Clint picked up his phone off the floor, before pointing over his shoulder towards his bedroom.. “I’ll just.. Go,” Clint walked backwards a couple of steps, before turning around, walking to his bedroom. He was about to close the door behind him, when he turned back to face James.

“Ah, you should know that I wear hearing aides,” Clint said, looking at James. James, who had been kneeling at his suitcase stood up, and nodded.

“Kinda figured,” at Clint’s curious face, he shrugged. “A couple of times you didn’t answer me, and I saw them. Had a friend who used to have to wear them; his hearing improved after some experimental surgery.”

“Lucky guy,” Clint muttered; James didn’t respond to the comment.

“So, if there’s a fire, you’re going to have to kick in my door,” Clint commented. “But don’t kick it down for anything less than a fire.”

James offered Clint a salute; Clint smiled, as he closed the bedroom door. He collapsed onto his bed and groaned.

“What the hell am I doing Lucky?” He asked his dog, who responded by lying on his chest, going back to sleep. “Thanks for the advice buddy. We’ll deal with it in the morning.”

His phone vibrated with a message. Clint opened his phone, having missed several.

 

**From: Prince of Thunder. (8.11pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[THIS IS MOST EXCELLENT NEWS! I LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING THIS CHARMING MAN.]

 

**From: Iron Man. (8.14pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Agreed. Please bring him along. I promise no harm will come to him.]

 

**From: Black Widow. (8.15pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Tony, don’t make promises that you can’t keep.]

 

**From: Iron Man. (8.36pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[No physical harm will come to him?]

 

**From: Iron Man. (8.36pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Can we get a name?]

 

**From: Iron Man. (9.36pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[I’m guessing not]

 

**From: Black Widow. (9.36pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Tony, there is a rule about no messages after 9]

 

**From: Iron Man. (9.35pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers.**

[Sorry. Radio silence now.]

 

Clint sighed, putting his phone on his bedside table. 

_ This is going to be a disaster,  _ Clint thought as he retrieved his laptop from under his bed. He then thought about the ( _ very attractive _ ) man sleeping on his couch.  _ But what a wonderful disaster it will be.  _

Clint watched some videos before falling asleep, resolving to deal with his life choices in the morning. (He even remembered to use headphones). 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> More coming soon, including more discussion between these two.  
> And more characters.  
> What am I doing?
> 
> (Side note- no other pairings have been decided. So if there's anyone you particularly want to see together? Let me know, it just might happen)


	2. Coffee Shop AU??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Clint continues to realise that maybe he didn't completely think this through. And James continues to be amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who read chapter one before today, I made a slight change.  
> (Because I realised this important plot point while going to sleep after posting the first chapter.)  
> Anyways, Bucky is going by James. For important plot reasons.  
> I've changed chapter 1 to reflect this, but as I said, if you read before today, there's no need to re-read, unless you want to.  
> TL;DR:  
> Bucky is going by James.  
> Enjoy.

Clint woke up as he did every other morning- by pushing Lucky off of his feet so that he could go to the bathroom. It wasn’t until he was in the kitchen and putting on a pot of coffee that he remembered that he had company.

_ Right, my fake boyfriend,  _ Clint thought to himself, getting up onto his counter and watching James do sit ups, dressed in a long sleeved shirt and tracksuit pants.  _ Who is ridiculously hot. Even in tracksuit pants. So hot. Unfair, really. And strong. Wow. _

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he called out to James, “Looking good.” 

James stood up, and smiled at Clint. 

“Thanks,” he said, before looking closer at Clint. He pointed at his own ear, and raised an eyebrow.

Clint shook his head, jumping down off of the counter in order to go and retrieve his hearing aids.

Returning to the kitchen, he found James leaning against the counter and holding a fresh mug of coffee in his hand, the pot sitting aside to cool.

“It was about to overflow,” James said by way of explanation. Clint walked to the pot of coffee, and took two gulps before leaning against the counter next to James.

“Thanks. Help yourself, I suppose.”

James laughed. “Well, as your boyfriend, I feel that I have the right to drink your coffee without asking.”

Clint groaned, rolling his head from side to side. “Yeah, that.”

James stood up a bit straighter, looking at Clint. “You changed your mind?”

Clint waved his hands in front of him, almost spilling his coffee everywhere. (Only  _ years  _ of experience had allowed him to hone his skills to the point where he wouldn’t spill a drop of coffee out of the pot. A cup, on the other hand, was another story entirely.)

“No, no. Just… I’m not a morning person?”

“You know, I couldn’t tell,” James replied, watching Clint over the top of his coffee. Clint narrowed his eyes at James.

“You’re being sarcastic.”

James blinked in reply, shrugging his right shoulder. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

Clint began to laugh, turning to prepare another pot of coffee, ( _ What? James stole part of mine, I am totally justified in making more) _ , before realising that he was out of coffee.

“I’m out of coffee,” Clint said to the room.

“You’ve got half a pot in your hands.”

“Yeah, but I normally have two pots on a Saturday morning, at least.” Clint put down his pot, and began walking to his bedroom.  “Get dressed, we’re going out for coffee.”

“We are?” James asked, but Clint was already in his room.

When he came back out of his room (having only changed into jeans, leaving on the t-shirt he had slept in), James had put on a pair of jeans, changed his long sleeved shirt, and was zipping up his leather jacket.

“That was quick,” Clint commented. James shrugged.

“Requisite skill in my line of work.”

“Right, right.” Clint patted his leg twice, and Lucky went to the front door and sat waiting. Clint picked up a jacket from the rack next to his door. “Ready?”

James nodded.

“Okay, let’s go get some coffee.”

“From a grocery store?”

“No way. Only the best in my place.”

 

~~~~~

 

“Welcome to Asgard, home of the best coffee in the nine realms,” the man behind the counter intoned, before noticing who his customer was. “Barton, pleasure as always.”

“Loki,” Clint nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I assume that you are here for your usual?”

“Of course. I also need some more for home.”

“Run out already? I could have sworn you got a new bag last week.”

“I did. I have company.” Clint waved a hand to James. Loki gave James a close look.

“Ah, you must be the beau who has captured Barton’s heart.” At James’ questioning look, Loki shrugged. “Thor showed me the picture. Obviously. Shows me every year, whether I wish to see them or not. But you do look familiar.”

“One of those faces,” James responded. Loki hummed.

“Any preference for your coffee?”

James offered Loki a charming smile. “Surprise me.”

“Adventurous. Hard to see how someone like you could end up with someone like Barton.”

“Thank you Loki, we’ll be over at that table,” Clint pointed at a table in the corner of the store, the farthest from the counter. Clint lead James over, and sat down so that Clint could keep an eye on Loki.

(And when we say lead, we mean than Clint took James by the shoulders and put himself between James and Loki, before pushing James. James smiled the entire time.)

“There’s a story here,” James commented after Clint spent a minute watching Loki.

“Huh?” Clint focused his attention on James, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, first off, I can’t imagine a place like this letting dogs in” James pointed at Lucky, who had taken his position lying on top of Clint’s feet. “Second, you didn’t pay. Third, Loki clearly doesn’t like you. Hence, story.”

Clint scrunched up his face as he thought how best to answer the question. “I’m, friends with the owner, doing favours when they need. And Loki doesn’t like me for multiple reasons, as I also do not like him. It’s a long, complicated story.”

“Will Loki be at the party tonight?”

“I will not,” Loki walked over, giving Clint and James their coffees. He also placed a bowl of water under the table, which Lucky lapped up eagerly.  “I am not a member of the Avengers. And Instagram.”

“Instagram?”

“That’s where I know you from,” Loki pulled out his phone from his pocket, and showed James the top picture on his feed. A photo from his last shoot in Europe before he returned home. “You’re quite the model.” 

Loki then left, returning to behind the counter.

“Strange man,” James commented. “What did he mean by the Avengers?”

Clint didn’t answer at first, instead inhaling his coffee. “It’s the name of our group. Someone came up with it, it’s stuck.”

“Strange name,” James commented, taking a sip from his drink. “Hmm that’s quite a good coffee.”

“Shhh,” Clint waved a hand at James. “Don’t let him hear you, it’ll go straight to his head.”

“Contrary to popular belief, my ego is no bigger than any other, and certainly no larger than your own,” Loki, who was now carrying a bag of coffee, returned to the table, putting the bag at Clint’s feet before returning to the counter.

“Charming man,” James said, taking another sip of his coffee.

“As ever,” Clint agreed. Clint closed his eyes as he enjoyed the last of his coffee. When he opened his eyes again James was staring at him, an undecipherable expression on his face. “What?”

James shook his head. “Nothing,” he said as he took another sip of his coffee, hiding his smile.

“Sure it’s nothing.”

James put his cup on the table, and offered Clint a smile. “You’re cute when you’re drinking coffee.”

Clint blinked, and rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, thanks?”

James ran his hand over his face, before dropping the smile. “Alright, I’ve gotta ask: are you into guys?”

“What?”

“Men. Are you attracted to men?”

“What? Yeah, yes.” Clint shook his head, confusion clear on his face. “Why?”

James tilted his head to the side. “The way you reacted when I called you cute.”

“Ah, that,” Clint offered James a sheepish expression. “I’m not used to being complimented like that. Like, not at all.”

“Really?” When Clint nodded, James took another drink of his coffee as he thought. Putting down his coffee, he offered Clint another smile. “Well, I mean it. You are cute, and if we’re going to pull tonight off, you’re going to need to get used to hearing that.”

Clint stared at James, open mouthed, before laughing.

“I’m confused,” James said when Clint finally stopped laughing.

“Hearing,” Clint repeated, smiling at James. “You told  _ me  _ that I need to get used to  _ hearing _ .” Clint began laughing again. James, realising why Clint was laughing, put his head in his hand.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” James groaned into his hand, before looking back at Clint. Clint was smiling. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s nice when people don’t try and ignore it.”

“And in ignoring it, point it out even more,” James finished, nodding as he finished his coffee.

“Exactly,” Clint waved his hands, emphasising his point. “Exactly. But, we’re ignoring the point of all this.” Clint rubbed his face, shaking his head a bit. “I haven’t had a proper relationship in… too long to even remember properly. Point is,” here he paused, and rubbed the back of his head. “This is going to end in a disaster, isn’t it?”

James shook his head. “Not if you trust me.”

“Despite all logic, I trust you.”

James smiled. “Okay.” James drained his coffee, before standing up. “Back to your place?”

“Yeah,” Clint also drained his coffee and stood up, pushing Lucky off of his feet and picking up the bag of coffee. James held out his hand for Lucky.

“May I?”

Clint nodded, handing over the leash. The trio walked out of the cafe, and began walking to the apartment.

“So, do you have a plan?” Clint asked. “Or are you making this up as you go along?”

James shrugged. “Bit of both? Can’t say I’ve ever found myself in this situation before. There are certainly some things we should probably go over before this party.”

“Like what?”

“Well, it would probably help if we knew a little bit about each other. Make it seem like we’ve known each other for longer than a day.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. So, where are we going to start?”

“Once we get back to your place.”

 

~~~~~

 

If James had not been so intently watching Clint, and Clint had not been so intently watching James, perhaps one of them would have noticed the photos being taken of them in the cafe, and the others as they walked side by side on the pavement.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> I wasn't planning to post an update today, but it happened.  
> See you next time.  
> And as stated before, a lot of the background characters/ their relationships haven't been decided yet, so still let me know what you want to see.  
> Also, any tropes you want to see. This work is named 'Tropey Tropefest' in my folders. 
> 
> (come join me on tumblr, where I routinely post bits and pieces from all the WiPs I currently have going)  
> (The latest of which may or may not be a Pirate!AU featuring WinterHawk.)


	3. How do you flood an apartment while making pizza?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint & James get to know each other a little bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Is five months late]  
> Apologies.

The pair walked back to the apartment in a companionable silence, James keeping his eyes on Lucky.

When they returned to the door, it was unlocked.

“Didn’t you lock it?” James asked Clint, who was frowning at the door as he opened it.

“About time Barton, you said to meet you here half an hour ago. I get here, and you're not even in… Who are you?”

James let go of Lucky, who bounded into the lounge and into the woman’s arms. The woman bent down to pat Lucky, but kept a glare on James.

“Who are you?”

James stood frozen, looking between the woman and Clint. Clint rubbed the back of his neck, dropping the bag of coffee in his kitchen and standing across from James.

“Ah, crap. Sorry Katie, I forgot.”

“I am not surprised,” Kate stood up and nodded at James. “Who is this?”

“Right. Katie-Kate, meet James. James, Kate Bishop.” Clint waved between the two.

Kate began sizing James up. “And?”

“And he's my boyfriend.”

“What?” Kate looked at Clint, before walking over and shoving him in the shoulder. “When did your sorry ass find a boyfriend?”

“Kate, never change,” Clint wrapped an arm around Kate's shoulders. “It's been… How long James?”

James, who had been watching the exchange with a smile, didn't miss a beat. “Eight months.”

“Eight months?” Kate turned a shocked expression to Clint. “You've kept this quiet for eight months?”

Clint ducked his head to hide his smile. “What can I say? When I have a reason to keep quiet, I keep quiet.”

Kate lifted Clint's arm from around her shoulder, instead extending a hand to James. “You must be quite the catch, to keep this one quiet. Nice to meet you.”

James walked over to return the shake. Kate stepped closer, leaning in close to James’ ear.

“If you hurt him in any way, just know that I know people that will make your life an absolute hell.” Kate pulled back, sweetest smile on her face. “Nice to meet you.”

James looked at Clint, who was crouched down and talking to Lucky. He looked back at Kate, and gave her a smile. “Likewise. It's nice to see that Clint has such a good friend to look out for him.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Kate smiled, before turning to Clint. “So, reschedule?”

Clint stood up, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry Kate.”

“Don't be,” she shrugged. “If I had someone like this waiting for me, I…. Oh wait, I do. See you when I see you?”

“Of course.”

“James, a pleasure.”

“Likewise.”

When the door closed behind Kate, Clint turned to James with a sheepish smile. “So, that was Kate.”

“I gathered that. So, a workmate?”

“Sort of? She lived in the building when I first moved in, had some troubles that I helped with. She worked her way into my life. And I wouldn't change a thing. We volunteer together down at the community centre.”

James nodded. “Okay. What does Clint do for work?”

“That’d be something you’d know, wouldn't it? I volunteer down at the community centre, running an ASL class twice a week. Kate helps out. As for paid work, I run Archery lessons down at the centre too.”

“Archery.” Bucky repeated, look of disbelief on his face.

Clint held up a hand. “I know, I know. But arms like these don’t just appear without work.”

James laughed as Clint began flexing his arms.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” James shook his head, going to sit on the couch. Clint followed, sitting on the other end of the couch. “So, what else should I know about you?”

Clint scratched his head as he thought. “No family. My friends know that, and they know I don’t talk about it. So if they ask you about it, change the topic. Cause it’s probably a test. Um… I like the colour purple.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Clint narrowed his eyes at James. “You’re funny.”

“I try to be.”

“Coffee, archery, purple, Lucky. That’s my life. I am a simple man. Now tell me about you.”

“Fair’s fair,” James nodded, thinking for a moment. “My family lives in Brooklyn. Mum, dad, two sisters. Lost my arm, don’t talk about it. International model,” James shrugged. “Anything else, feel free to make up. It’s not like anyone there would know any different.”

“Make it up as we go. I think I can manage that.” Clint looked down at Lucky, who was asleep on the floor.

James reached out to put his hand on Clint’s shoulder; Clint jumped at the contact, and James withdrew his hand.

“Sorry.”

“No, don’t,” Clint sighed, offering James a small smile. “I’m not great with unexpected contact.”

“Noted,” James held up his hand. “May I?”

Clint nodded, and James put his hand back on Clint’s shoulder. “So I’m a tactile person. Always have been. So feel free to put an arm around me anytime. It’d help to sell the story.”

“Sell the story,” Clint repeated, reaching up to put his hand over James’s. “Right. Cause couples are usually touching each other. Usually.”

James frowned slightly at Clint’s word choice. “I take it you don’t have much dating experience?”

Clint let go of James’s hand, dropping it to his lap. “Uh, yeah. This’ll probably come up at the party. So, I don’t have a great track record when it comes to relationships. I play it off as a joke, as does everyone else. So there’ll probably be some mention of me being a disaster.”

“I can’t imagine you being a disaster,” James said, scratching his shoulder. Clint laughed.

“Stick around, you’ll believe.” Clint shook his head, before changing the topic. “You’re going to get along great with Tony.”

“Tony?”

Clint nodded. “Yeah, he’s one of my friends. We’re going to one of his places today, since he’s got the huge backyard.”

“One of his places?”

“Right. He may or may not be a little bit… rich?”

“Do you end all of your sentences with a question?”

Clint shrugged, holding his hands out wide. “What can I say? It’s part of my charm.”

James shook his head, before he did something to his face, which had Clint smiling wide.

“Woah, you look  _ exactly  _ like a kicked puppy,” Clint said, and James broke out a grin.

“So I’ve been told. It comes in handy when I want a cute guy  to do something for me.”

Clint began coughing. He stopped a moment later, pointing a finger at James. “Did you just  _ flirt  _ with me?”

James gave Clint a worried look. “Do you not want me to? I could stop, I just thought, if you want to convince your friends that we’re dating, maybe we should be comfortable around each other?” James ran his hand through his hair. “That was the point of all this, wasn’t it?”

Clint put his hands on his head, breathing in and out slowly while he thought through his response. “Yeah, okay. Yeah. That’s definitely a thing. Yeah. Comfort.”

The look of worry dropped off James’ face, replaced with a small smile. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Clint narrowed his eyes at James. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” James raised an eyebrow.

“Go from one emotion to another so quickly?” Clint shook his head. “It takes me a while to show anything in the morning, but here you are showing more emotion than I do in a week. How?”

“It’s part of my job. Photographer tells me what to do, I do it. It’s bled into my social life, or it would, if I had one.” At Clint’s confused look, James gestured vaguely. “For the past five years, I’ve basically been either being photographed, being prepared to be photographed, or traveling to get photographed. Add in the travel, and it doesn’t lead to making friends much.”

“I get that,” Clint nodded, tilting his head at James. “So, no friends?”

James shrugged a shoulder. “Not from work, no. Acquaintances maybe. Have some friends from before I left, but we’ll see how they are when I catch up with them again. It’s been a while, some of them probably won’t even recognise me.”

“Have you changed that much?”

James ran his hand through his hair. “Used to keep this short, for one thing. But that’s a problem for Monday. So, when do we need to be ready?”

“Sam’s coming by at four.”

“Sam?”

Clint facepalmed. “Sam. Right. Sam’s a friend, he was going to drive. I should let him know that you’re coming, shouldn’t I?”

“Probably.”

Clint shook his head as he stood up, and walked over to retrieve his phone from the kitchen.

 

**From: Hawkeye (11.23am)**

**To: Falcon**

**[** Hey, so are you still able to drive to Tonys? **]**

 

**From: Falcon (11.24am)**

**To: Hawkeye**

**[** Is this your way of asking if your secret boyfriend can come? Cause the answers yes **]**

 

Clint groaned, shaking his head as he replied.

 

**From: Hawkeye (11.25am)**

**To: Falcon**

**[** Thank you sam **]**

 

**From: Falcon (11.26am)**

**To: Hawkeye**

**[** Besides, someones gotta check this guy out **]**

 

Clint dropped his phone back on the counter, walking back over to the couch and collapsing on it. James gave him an amused smile.

“You look like that was fun.”

Clint rolled his head to raise an eyebrow at James. “My friends are great. They can just be…” Clint trailed off, waving his hands around. “Them. Feel like pizza for lunch?”

“Homemade?”

Clint burst out laughing. “Oh, no. Last time I tried to make pizza, I flooded the apartment.”

James frowned at Clint. “How do you  _ flood an apartment  _ while making  _ pizza _ ?”

Clint threw up his hands. “No idea. It just… it just  _ happened _ .”

 

~~~~~

 

Over two pizzas shared three ways (James had never met a dog who ate pizza), James slowly learnt more about Clint. Not always from what the man said, mind you; James was good at picking up on body language.

Any time he was talking about a good memory, the corners of his eyes scrunched up with his smile.

Any time the memory wasn’t pleasant, the fake smile wouldn’t reach his eyes.

And the personal disasters brought out a shy smile, usually accompanied with one eye closed.

If James was being honest with himself, he would admit that Clint was  _ exactly  _ the kind of guy he would date. 

“Get a grip Barnes,” James muttered to himself, staring into the mirror. He had just gotten out of the shower, and gave himself a glare. “Don’t get attached. You’re just here for a day, to help fool some friends. Don’t bother hoping for anything more.”

James shook his head as he rubbed his cream into his shoulder.  _ You’ll be leaving in a week, and never see him again. _

_ But that doesn’t stop you from having fun while you’re here,  _ a voice in his head said. James shook his head, putting his stuff into his bag and heading out of the bathroom.

“Bathroom’s free,” he said to Clint, who was staring at his phone.

“Huh?” Clint looked up, and paused at the sight of a shirtless James. “Uh, shower? Shower. Should go. I should, not… I didn’t mean,” Clint sighed, standing up and pointing to the shower. “I’m gonna leave before I say something stupid.”

“Good idea,”  _ for both of us _ .”

 

~~~

 

When he closed the door behind him, Clint slumped to the ground, hitting his head on the door.

“Lame Barton. So lame,” he shook his head.  _ Don’t get attached to the guy who is doing you a favour, and you’ll never see again after this _ .

 

~~~~~

 

A little after four, there was a knock on the door. Clint ran his hands through his shower damp hair as he went to answer it.

“Sam! Come in,” Clint said, a little out of breath. Sam raised an eyebrow at Clint before he walked through the apartment, bending down to say hello to Lucky.

“Clint, you might want to fix your shirt,” Sam pointed at Clint’s shirt, which was buttoned up wrong. Clint groaned as he fixed it. “Hey there Lucky. Now where…” Sam trailed off when James came out of Clint’s bedroom, straightening his collar before running his hand through his hair. Sam stood up, looking between the two with wide eyes. “I interrupted something.”

Clint shook his head, while James smiled. “Sam, I assume?”

Sam held out a hand. “And I assume you are the mysterious man that Clint has apparently been hiding from us.”

“Not really,” James shook Sam’s hand. “I’ve been travelling. Bit hard to be introduced when I’m not in the state.”

“Makes sense,” Sam leant in close, still holding onto James’s hand. “Don’t even  _ think  _ about hurting him. I know people.”

James nodded when Sam let go of his hand. “Noted. Clint, darling, you ready yet?”

Both men turned to Clint, who was staring at the two of them with an unreadable expression. James shook his head, walking over to run a hand through Clint’s hair, spiking it up in a couple of places. 

“There. Much better,” James smiled at Clint, who blinked at him before looking at Sam. 

“Right. Ready?”

“I’m waiting for you two,” Sam replied. “Is Lucky coming?”

“Yeah,” Clint tapped his leg twice, and Lucky trotted over to the door, waiting for them. “You mind taking him down? We’ll be down in a moment.”

Sam looked between the two, before nodding in understanding. “Right, right. I’ll see you in a moment.”

When the door closed behind Sam and Lucky, Clint turned to James, smiling wide.

“So far so good.”

“One down, huh?”

Clint nodded. “Right. There’s a few more to meet.”

James walked over to Clint, putting his arm around Clint’s waist. “Then what are we waiting for?”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while hasn't it?  
> Sorry everyone- I adore this verse, which means that I want to put more thought into it, and plan further ahead than I usually do when I write.  
> I normally write chapters with minimal forward planning, but this one gets a lot of thought.  
> Which... still doesn't explain 5 months. I apologise.  
> But... we're progressing the story! Sam's around.  
> Next chapter: awkward car rides! Meeting the Avengers!  
> Let me know what you thought :)  
> [Hopefully it won't be five months]


	4. It’s starting to get a bit cold, and I’m not just referring to the weather.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward talks!  
> Shovel Talks!  
> Hinted at back stories!  
> "I hope the cold wind covers up for the blush because I'm falling for my fake boyfriend."  
> "It’s starting to get a bit cold, and I’m not just referring to the weather."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!  
> Five months between 2 & 3; 6 days between 3 & 4  
> Enjoy

James had insisted that Clint sit in the front seat, after making sure that they both had a warm winter coat. (Clint’s was purple. Because  _ of course it was _ .)

Clint was pretty sure that him sitting in the front seat was so that James could sit with Lucky in the back.

Clint wasn’t complaining; his dog is great.

“So…” Sam tapped a hand on the wheel, waiting at the red light. Clint turned to him.

“What?”

“You haven’t taken your eyes off of him since you got into the car.”

“Haven’t I?”

Sam offered him a dry look as the light turned green. “Nope. Must be alright, considering Lucky likes him.”

Clint nodded, looking back in the mirror; James was asleep, hand in Lucky’s fur. Lucky was also asleep.

“Yeah, must be alright.” Clint muttered, smile on his face.

“You really like this guy?”

Clint looked back at Sam. “Huh?”

“Your face,” Sam waved his hand towards Clint. “It’s glowing.”

Clint turned his head towards the window, hoping to hide his blush. “Shut up.”

“No, it’s a good look on you,” Sam’s tone went serious. “You deserve to be happy.”

“If you say so,” Clint mumbled into his hand, staring out at the passing fields.

“You know, he’s been asleep a while. Should we be concerned?”

“Nah, he hasn’t been sleeping lately,” Clint replied instantly.

“Someone keeping him up?”

Clint sat up, quickly looking in the back; James was still asleep. “No! I mean… no?”

Sam laughed. “Don’t worry Clint. What you two get up to in your bedroom is no concern of mine. Though he is a very good looking man.”

“Thanks, I think?”

Both men in the front looked at James in the rearview mirror.

“Uh…” Sam coughed awkwardly, focussing back on the road. Clint turned around to look at James, who gave him a wink.

“How long have you been awake?”

James smiled. “Long enough.”

Clint groaned as he hit his head on his chair, James’s laughter clearly heard.

 

~~~

 

“So this is a big house,” James looked up at the house with wide eyes. House was an understatement; this was clearly a mansion.

“Yeah,” Clint drew out the word, standing next to James as he fidgeted with his beanie. ( _ Purple. Does the man own anything that  _ isn’t  _ purple? _ )  “Tony’s a little bit rich.”

“I’m pretty sure this place is worth more than every house I’ve ever lived in  _ combined _ .”

“And every place I’ve lived in,” Sam added, walking past the pair to go to the front door, which was open. Lucky ran in after him.

Clint turned to look at James. “So, this is your last chance to back out.”

James smiled at Clint. “What, and miss out on checking out this  _ amazing  _ mansion? In your dreams.”

“Okay, okay,” Clint took in a deep breath. “I can do this.”

James looked at him worriedly. “You okay?”

Clint nodded too quickly. “Yeah, of course. I mean, we’re only trying to convince everyone we’ve been dating for seven months. What could go wrong?”

“Eight.”

“Huh?”

“We told Kate eight. We should probably keep it the same.”

“I guess you’re right.” Clint looked up at the house, not moving. James reached out to take his hand, before walking towards the house.

 

~~~

 

“This place is huge,” James said as the pair walked through the house, before reaching the backyard. It was covered in a light layer of snow.

Clint laughed. “Yeah, would you believe that this is on the smaller size of what Tony owns?”

James looked at Clint wide eyed. “Really?”

Clint nodded in reply.

“Barton! There you are!”

Clint let go of James’ hand, walking over to hug the man who had called out.

“Tony, good to see you. Is anyone else here yet?”

“No, not yet. Coming after work,” Tony let go of Clint and turned to James. He held out a hand. “Tony.”

James blinked, before shaking the hand. “James. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m sure it is,” Tony smiled, opening his mouth to continue when Sam called out.

“Clint! Your dog needs you!”

“Aww, Lucky, no,” Clint mumbled as he followed Sam’s voice. James went to follow, but found himself stopped by Tony.

“If you think of hurting him? Don’t,” Tony smiled widely. “I know people.”

James nodded. “Of course, Mr Stark.”

“You know who I am.”

“Of course,” James gestured around the place. “Impressive place.”

“It’s alright. So, how did you meet Clint?”

“Aww, you better not be interrogating him Stark,” Clint came back over, standing next to James. James slid his arm around Clint’s waist, pulling him closer.

“He just wanted to know how we met,” James smiled at Clint. “You remember, right?”

“How could I forget,” Clint rolled his eyes, before turning back to Tony and Sam, who had joined them. “But James tells it so much better.”

James shook his head, but started talking. “So, I was in town for work, and was given an address for an apartment to stay in. Turns out, the landlord is dodgy, because the address given to me was for this guy’s apartment,” James tipped his head towards Clint, fond smile on his face. Clint was watching James with an unreadable expression on his face. “So, I get told that the landlord won’t be back until Monday, and why don’t I come in for a coffee?”

“Why am I not surprised Barton?” Tony shook his head. Clint turned to look at Tony.

“Please, like you can talk about coffee Stark.”

“Anyways,” James continued, drawing the attention back to him. “I agreed, we spent the entire night talking and watching bad movies, swapped contact info. I spent the weekend on the couch, before fixing up accommodation with the landlord. Stayed on another floor, but we kept talking. Then I had to leave for work, but we kept talking over emails, texts, and phone calls. When I was back in town, I came back to see him.” James smiled at Clint, before looking at the other two. “Ten months since we met, dating for eight.”

Sam whistled. “Nice story.”

“Can hardly believe our little Hawk was so smooth.”

Clint rolled his eyes at Tony. “I am taller than you, Stark.”

Tony shrugged. “If you say so. Can I get either of you a drink? Something to eat?”

“I’m fine,” James answered.

“Me too.”

“Very well. Sam?”

“Lemonade?”

“Coming right up.” Tony left the trio. Sam looked between the pair, expression curious.

“Eight months? And you never said anything?”

“To be fair,” Clint said. “James has been travelling. Could you imagine if I told everyone about him, only to be unable to show evidence?”

“Phone calls, photos, text messages,” Sam ticked off the answers on his fingers. “There’s evidence.”

Clint went quiet, trying to think of an answer. Fortunately, James stepped in, squeezing Clint’s waist in reassurance.

“That would be my fault. See, in my line of work, I prefer people not knowing where I am.”

“You sound like a spy,” Tony said, reappearing with Sam’s lemonade and his own coke. 

James shook his head. “Not a spy.”

“Should be a model,” Sam said after taking a drink. “Jaw like that? Model.”

James shared a look with Clint, before laughing. “I am, actually.”

Sam and Tony shared a wide eyed look, before turning back to the pair. 

“Hawkeye is dating a  _ model _ ?” Tony asked.

James frowned. “Hawkeye?”

“I’ll explain later,” Clint said, before focussing on Tony. “And what is so weird about that?”

“Other than it’s  _ you _ ?” Tony shook his head. “Now Thor, there’s someone who would date a model. Steve too, probably. Can’t imagine you doing so.”

“What Tony is trying to say,” Sam stepped in before Tony said something too bad. “Is that it’s a shock, given your previous relationships.”

Clint’s lips twisted to the side; James turned so that he was facing Clint, and put a hand on his cheek.

“You okay?” he asked, worried expression on his face. Clint smiled at him, giving James a wink.

“Fine,” he said, before raising his hands to sign. “It is a shock for me to be with a model.”

“Still,” Bucky let go of Clint’s face to sign back, before Tony coughed.

“I can understand you Barton.”

Clint turned to Tony, and poked out his tongue.

“Mature as always.”

Clint turned at the new voice, face lighting up. “Tasha!”

James’s view of the new arrival was blocked by Clint, who had all but run over to hug the woman.

“She’s the one you’re gonna have to impress.”

James didn’t jump at the voice in his ear. When he turned, Tony looked disappointed.

“Oh?”

Tony nodded towards the pair. “Best friends forever. Well, they’ve known each other for a long time. Practically family. If you want to last, you’ll have to gain her approval.”

James nodded at Tony. “Thank you.”

“James!” Clint held out a hand for James, who walked over to him. “Come meet my best friend, Natasha.”

James smiled, holding out a hand….

“Natalia?”

“James?”

Clint looked between the two, who weren’t moving. “Uh… What’s happening?”

James shook his head, before pushing a stray hair behind his ear. “We’ve, ah, met.”

“A couple of years ago.”

“When you were on your dance tour of Europe?”

Natasha nodded at Clint. “Exactly. It was in Russia. I was chosen to do a photoshoot for some publicity, and James was my partner for the shoot.”

“That was a weird one,” James added. “I wondered why they would use me rather than an actual dancer. But, there I was. Pretending to be a dancer.”

“You weren’t that bad, if I recall,” Natasha smiled at him, before widening her eyes. “No.”

Clint turned to Natasha. “What?”

Natasha lightly pushed Clint’s shoulder. “ _ This  _ is the mystery guy?”

Clint rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah?”

“No way,” Natasha stepped towards James, looking him in the eyes.

“If you even  _ think  _ about hurting him…”

James held up his hand to stop her, smile on his face. “You’ll hurt me? I remember what you did to that guy who touched you.”

Natasha continued to stare James down for a moment, before nodding. “Good.” She turned to Clint, and pushed his shoulder again. “Now you, how did you keep this a secret for…”

“Eight months,” Tony offered.

Natasha turned to Tony. “Eight  _ months _ ?”

Tony nodded. “Apparently.”

Natasha shook her head. “And here I thought that you were my best friend.” Natasha stepped away, standing in between Sam and Tony and throwing her arms around their shoulders. “Guess I’ll just be friends with Iron Man and Falcon then.”

“Aww, Tasha,” Clint shook his head at her. “You know you love me.”

“Come on boys,” Natasha turned Sam and Tony around. “Let’s leave those two alone for a bit.”

Clint watched after Natasha, shaking his head.

“Is everything okay,” James asked. Clint nodded.

“Yeah, Tasha is fine. That’s just  her way of telling me that she’s not impressed with the secret.”

“Okay,” James stepped up in front of Clint, and took one of Clint’s hands. “So, we worked together for three months.”

Clint looked wide eyed at James. “Three months? How much does she know about you?”

James shook his head. “It’s fine. She doesn’t even know about the prosthetic.”

“How?”

“Didn’t come up,” James shrugged. “Besides, four years ago. I’m sure anything we told each other has been forgotten.”

Clint shook his head. “Yeah, no. She’ll remember. She always remembers.”

James looked out of the corner of his eye, seeing three pairs of eyes on him. He leant in closer to Clint, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“Hope so,” Clint mumbled, hoping that any blush on his cheeks could be explained as a result of  the cold wind.

 

~~~

 

“So how long are you going to ignore him?” Sam asked Natasha when she let go of him and Tony to pick up a drink.

She shrugged, watching Clint and James from across the yard. “Depends. I’m not ignoring him.”

“Just letting him stew for a bit?” Tony offered. “Come on, it’s Barton. What did you expect?”

“You mean the same Barton who can’t keep a secret to save his life?” Natasha raised an eyebrow at Tony, who conceded the point. “Your words, last week.”

“Right, I remember. Okay, yeah, I see your problem. But look at them,” when Tony pointed, the three shifted their attention to the pair; James was holding Clint’s hand up between them, staring intently into his eyes. “They’re not faking it.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that they were faking it. It’s more, eight months?”

“It is a bit of a stretch,” Sam added. “But come on. If you had someone like  _ that  _ waiting for you at home, would you tell everyone? Or keep it a secret?”

Natasha snorted, taking a sip of her drink. “I  _ do  _ have someone. It’s no secret. Beautiful hair, perfect length for-”

“We are aware,” Tony rolled his eyes at her, interrupting Natasha before she could  _ really  _ get started.. “But I bring us back to our topic sentence: this is  _ Barton  _ we are talking about.”

“You’re the hacker Stark. You can find out if there’s anything shady about the guy.”

“You think he might be using Clint?”

Sam shrugged a shoulder. “Not likely. But there is something strange about this. Like why hasn’t he taken his left hand out of his pocket  _ at all _ . I get that it’s cold, but his right hand is out.”

The trio continued to stare at Clint and James. When James leant in to kiss Clint’s cheek, Natasha held out her drink to Sam. “No need for Stark, I’ll find out what he wants.”

“Don’t hurt him,” Sam called out; Natasha threw a smile over her shoulder, before walking up to James and Clint.

“James, can I have a word?” Natasha put on her sweetest smile; Clint narrowed his eyes at her, recognising the look. James looked at Clint, before nodding at Natasha. 

“Sure.”

He followed Natasha, who walked towards the side of the backyard. Clint went over to Tony and Sam.

“What are your intentions with Clint?”

“No beating around the bush, just like I remember,” James stood his ground when Natasha took a step closer. James held up his hand. “I am in a relationship with Clint. I care about him. What kind of answer do you want?”

“How much does he know about you?” Natasha raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms; James raised an eyebrow in return.

“How much do you know about me?”

Natasha stared him down, behind shaking her head. “So nothing then. I am not surprised. If I find out you’ve hurt him, there is  _ no where  _ you can hide. Got it?”

“Crystal clear.”

Natasha turned around and walked back to the group. James stood where he was, watching the way she walked back over and slipped into the conversation.

James looked down when Lucky came over, bumping into his knee. He knelt down to pat Lucky.

“You like me, don’t you?”

Lucky responded by wagging his tail, spraying some snow over James.

“Thanks Lucky.” James shook his head, pulling the coat of his jacket over his head.  _ It’s starting to get a bit cold, and I’m not just referring to the weather _ .

 

~~~

 

“What did you do?” Clint asked as soon as Natasha returned to the group. She took her drink back from Sam, downing it in one go.

“Shovel talk.”

Clint eyed Natasha, before looking at James. “That why he’s looking upset?”

None of the group stopped Clint from walking over to James.

“What did you really say?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Nothing bad,” Natasha pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. “How about we bring this party inside? I think that cold front is getting here sooner than anticipated.”

_Not just the weather getting cold,_ Sam thought as he followed Natasha and Tony into the house.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> And thank you for the warm response to chapter 3. I loved reading all the comments.  
> As for this chapter... Natasha is concerned for her friend. She'll warm up in the next chapter.  
> As for pairings besides the main one... still open for debate. So any suggestions are great.  
> Next chapter:
> 
> Wasp: #safetyfirst everybody! Don’t text and drive. #staysafe #christmasstorm @warmachinerox @captain_marvel  
> Wasp: ready to party #cuteoutfit #waspfashion  
> Wasp: the snow is very #pretty  
> Wasp: hope this forecast is wrong #boo #nostorm  
> Wasp: my ride is here :)  
> Wasp: @captain_marvel is beautiful as ever #bff  
> Wasp: as is @warmachinerox #sorryididntinclueyouinthelastpost #yourebeautifultoo
> 
> (Gee, I wonder who is turning up in the next chapter?)  
> See you next time :)  
> Can find me on tumblr at jenjo93.tumblr.com  
> I post about my writing, & can probably be persuaded to post hints/chapter previews.


	5. It's suspicious if we don't sit close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James meets more Avengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter is a bit less light than the tone of the rest of the story.  
> Hinting at a bit of backstory that I will go into... sometime.   
> The rest of the chapter? Light and fluffy.  
> Plus a wild Jan appears

_ Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. _

James closed his eyes, squeezing them tight to stop the tears.  _ Don’t think about it. _

_ Don’t think about alleyways covered in snow, after sunset. _

_ Don’t think about whispers in the dark. _

James shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand. 

Four years ago, James was a very different person, and being reminded of it like this, out of the blue? Wasn’t great.

_ You’re crouching in the snow. In America. The snow is soft, light. It isn’t cold enough. _

James was interrupted when he felt a wet tongue on his cheek. He opened his eyes, moving his hand to pat Lucky under his chin.

“Sorry for ignoring you,” James spoke to Lucky, who continued wagging his tail. “You’re a good dog.”

Lucky barked in response, looking pleased with himself.

James smiled, before seeing Clint storming towards him. He focused back on Lucky’s fur, hoping that any evidence of crying could be explained away by the cold.

“I’m alright Clint.” James said, when Clint remained silent. He didn’t even look up, instead continuing to pat Lucky.

“You don’t look like it.”

James looked up at Clint, a small smile on his face and squinting against the falling snow “Just cold, is all.” When Clint raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing James, James rolled his eyes. He decided to go for  _ a  _ truth, just not  _ the  _ truth. “Shovel talk. I’ve had three in the last two hours. Four, if you include Kate.”

_ Not that that’s why I’m feeling like this _ , James thought,  _ but you don’t need to know that. _

“Yuck,” Clint agreed, scrunching up his face. He then  crossed his arms, half in an attempt to keep warm. 

James laughed, thankful for Clint and his attempt at humour.. “Yeah, yuck.”  James blew out a breath, patting Lucky some more. He tilted his head, looking at Clint, before deciding to tell Clint a bit of truth. “I’ve been reminded of some stuff. It’s not good stuff, and not anything you ever need to hear about.”

“Okay,” Clint nodded, looking serious. “If… yeah, of course. I don’t need to know. But you wanna talk? I’m your guy.” Clint then held out a hand to help James stand up. James took the hand, and Clint pulled him a bit too forcefully.

James ended up standing nose to nose with Clint. Both men stood frozen, staring into each other’s eyes, still holding onto each other’s hand. Clint began to lean forward, just a little...

“We’re going inside, unless the two of you would prefer to stay out here.”

The sound of Tony’s voice caused the two to jump apart. Clint avoided James’ eyes, instead getting Lucky’s attention and following the group inside. James stood where he was, blowing a breath out of his nose.

_ What was that? _

He shook his head, getting rid of some of the snow in it, before following them inside.

Inside was much warmer than outside. James took off his outer jacket, hanging it up on the coat hook next to Clint’s purple one. He also removed his shoes, putting them next to the others. He followed the sound of voices; the group were sitting in a lounge area, in front of a large heater. Lucky was asleep in front of the heater; Sam and Natasha were sharing a couch, Tony was in a chair, and Clint was alone on another couch. James walked over in front of Clint, sitting on his right. After a moment, Clint put an arm around James’ shoulders. James smiled, tilting his head to rest on Clint’s shoulder.

“Are we okay?” Clint asked, looking at James. His face was so  _ hopeful _ , James couldn’t resist running his hand over Clint’s cheek.

“We’re great,” James smiled, causing Clint to smile too.

“Aren’t you two adorable,” Sam observed. Clint lifted his head to stick his tongue out at Sam.

“You’re all jealous,” Clint said, looking at the three.

“Not really.”

“Nope.”

“Tell yourself that.”

Clint waved a hand, looking back at James. “They’re all jealous.”

“Whatever you say, babe.”

Clint’s eyes went a little bit wider at the name, but he smiled quick enough. His smile fell when he looked at Natasha, who was watching the pair. Clint sighed, standing up.

“Come on Tasha, we’re having a talk,” Clint walked out of the room, not even looking back to see if Natasha was following. She waited for him to exit the room, eyes staying on James, before she stood up and followed Clint.

James sat up a little straighter, aware of how Sam and Tony’s eyes were now on him.

“Hi.” James offered both men a smile.

“When did you lose your arm?”

Tony’s head snapped around to Sam. “Why would you ask that?”

Sam shrugged a shoulder, gesturing to James. “It’s a fair question.”

“It is,” James spoke before Tony could. “But not one I’m overly comfortable talking about. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course,” Sam was quiet for a moment, before looking back at James. “What’s it like, having sex with one arm?”

Tony dropped his head into his hand, shaking it. James offered Sam a smile. 

“I manage. What, you want a demonstration? I don’t think Clint is the kind to share.”

Sam stared down James for a moment, before nodding. “I like you.”

“If this is how you treat someone you like, I’d hate to see how you treat someone you hate.”

“Oh, it’s pretty much the same,” Tony offered, re-entering the conversation. “Sam is a complicated man.”

“Says the King of Complicated.”

James watched in fascination as the two got into a conversation, seemingly forgetting that he was also in the room.

 

~~~

 

“What the  _ hell _ .”

Natasha stared at Clint blankly. “I have no-”

“No, don’t,” Clint held up his hand to stop Natasha from speaking. He took a deep breath, before continuing. “I know you’re looking out for me. Or whatever. But could you be a  _ little  _ bit friendlier to him? For me?”

Natasha reached out to put a hand on Clint’s shoulder. “I worry about you, маленький ястреб. I always have. I’ve seen you in relationships before, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Tasha. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Natasha laughed, shaking her head fondly. “But I do, because you don’t worry about you. You don’t have the best record with dating.”

“Tasha…” Clint shook his head, hoping to stop what he knew was about to happen.

“Je-.”

“-Just didn’t work out.”

“Bo-.”

“-We’re friends. We didn’t work… but we’re still friends.”

“Wade.”

Clint closed his mouth, frowning. “Wade and I never dated.”

“Not how he tells it.”

“You’re trusting Wade over me?”

“Clint,” she hugged him, before she pulled back, looking at Clint seriously. “ I suppose you have James now to worry for you.”

“Something like that,” Clint took Natasha’s hands off of his shoulders and held them. “Trust that I know what I’m doing?”

“Never,” Natasha smiled, and kissed Clint’s cheek. “No go back and be with your James.”

 

~~~

 

James looked up; Clint came back into the room, and all but collapsed onto the couch next to him.

“You okay?” James looked at Clint, slightly concerned. Clint shrugged a shoulder, moving to rest his head on James’ shoulder.

“I’m just peachy,” Clint muttered, before sitting up and giving James a smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

“So, Tony,” Clint turned to Tony. “When’s everyone getting here?”

“What, sick of my company already?” Tony said, when, as if on cue, Tony’s phone began to ring.

“Stark. Hey Cap. Yeah?” Tony’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s no good. No, you and Thor stay safe. We’ll see you in the morning.” Tony ended the call, looking up at the group. “So, that bad weather predicted for Monday? Is hitting now. Cap and Thor are stuck at work, it isn’t safe for them to travel tonight. So they’ll be here in the morning.” Tony looked back at his phone when it vibrated in his hand. “And Rhodey’s car is on their way. Not even five minutes away.”

“He isn’t texting while driving is he?”

“No Clint, I’d say it’s Carol.” Tony worked his phone for a moment, before standing up and handing it over to Clint. “Yep, Carol.”

Clint sat up to look at the phone, James looking over his shoulder; a blonde woman took up the majority of the frame, head bent over her phone. An arm was visible on the side.

 

**Wasp: #safetyfirst everybody! Don’t text and drive. #staysafe #christmasstorm @warmachinerox @captain_marvel**

 

Clint scrolled down the feed, finding several posts, each accompanied with a picture

 

**Wasp: ready to party #cuteoutfit #waspfashion**

**Wasp: the snow is very #pretty**

**Wasp: hope this forecast is wrong #boo #nostorm**

**Wasp: my ride is here :)**

**Wasp: @captain_marvel is beautiful as ever #bff**

**Wasp: as is @warmachinerox #sorryididntinclueyouinthelastpost**

 

Clint shook his head as he handed over the phone to Tony. “Of course Jan is live tweeting the car trip.”

“You know our Jan,” Tony shrugged as he returned to his seat. “And Carol says they’ve got food.”

“Good,” Sam smiled. “Because Cap was gonna bring the food.”

Natasha, who had been texting on her phone, looked up at the group. “Pepper’s stuck at work too, but at least she’s got a bed there.”

“You’d know all about that bed wouldn’t you?” Tony said. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, me and Pepper sleep together. We have wonderful,  _ amazing  _ sex. Would you like me to tell you every detail about that bed she has?”

Tony shook his head. “I regret opening my mouth.”

Natasha smiled, putting her phone back in her pocket. “Pepper says hi.”

“I’m sure she does,” Tony muttered.

“Tasha, stop being mean to Stark,” Clint called out. Natasha gave Clint a wink.

“You know I do it out of love.”

“Out of something,” Clint said, but was interrupted from continuing by the front door opening, bringing in a blast of cold air, before it closed again.

“Hey Avengers!” 

James turned his head; the woman from the majority of the pictures was walking in, arms loaded with food. She was followed by two more people with food in their arms.

The first woman put the food on the table in the middle of the chairs, before turning to each occupant in the room.

“Sam! Natasha!” She hugged both of them while they sat on the couch, before turning and jumping across the room. “Tony!”

“Jan,” Tony stood up to hug her, smile on his face. She then turned to Clint, who had already stood up with open arms.

“Clint!” She hugged Clint, who spun her around.

“Jan, always a pleasure.”

“I know,” she smiled, before looking at James wide eyed. She tilted her head to the side. “I know you?”

James stood up, offering a hand. “James. Nice to meet you.”

Jan looked at the hand, before throwing her arms around his neck.

“Nice to meet you too,” she smiled when she let go of his neck. “Why are you here?”

Clint cleared his throat. “Uh, he’s my boyfriend?”

Jan looked at Clint, before looking back at James. “Awesome!” She hugged James again, before turning to hug Clint. “That’s awesome! I’m so happy!”

“Thanks Jan,” Clint closed his eyes briefly, before letting go of Jan and sitting down on the seat again. 

“So, you have to tell me  _ everything _ ,” Jan sat on the table in front of the pair, clapping her hands together.

James and Clint shared a look.

“Jan, honey,” Carol came over and put a hand on Jan’s shoulder. “Let the men eat.”

“Right! Food,” Jan turned around, and offered Clint and James a plate piled with a bit of everything on offer.

“Uh thanks?” James looked at the food now resting on his legs, before looking at Clint. “What just happened?”

Clint smiled at James. “You met Jan.”

“Jan’s great,” Carol entered their conversation, taking Jan’s spot in front of them. (Jan had moved on to talking to Sam and Natasha.) “But for people who aren’t used to her, it can take a bit to get used to. I’m Carol, by the way.”

“James.” James smiled.

“So, you and Hawkeye?”

Clint rolled his eyes, taking a bite from his slice of pizza. “Yes Carol, me and James.”

“Alright, I’m going to ask again,” James raised his voice a bit, drawing the attention to him. “What is with Hawkeye?”

“What is with Hawkeye indeed,” Tony replied, smiling at James from across the room. “It is a question we have been asking since we met the man.”

“You’re hilarious,” Clint muttered, before turning to James. “I ah, grew up in a circus. That one,” he pointed at Tony with his slice of pizza. “Found an old poster. ‘The Amazing Hawkeye’ was my stage name. And this lot decided to call me Hawkeye.”

“Because he isn’t amazing,” Sam added.

“Because I’m not amazing,” Clint rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

“You’re amazing to me,” James said, causing the room to “Aww” at them. James shook his head fondly. “So everyone else has a nickname too?”

“Of course,” Jan stood up, pointing to Sam first. “Falcon, Black Widow, Iron Man, War Machine, Captain Marvel, and I’m Wasp! I’m small, and full of energy.”

“That you are Jan,” Sam smiled, before pointing to himself. “So I grew up around falcons; my parents and extended family all bred them. Was kinda obsessed as a kid. As far as childhood nicknames go, I could’ve been stuck with a lot worse.”

Natasha finished her mouthful of food, and spoke when all eyes turned expectant on her. “First time I met those three,” she gestured towards Tony, Rhodey, and Carol, “they were freaking out over a spider on the table. I walked over, coaxed the spider into my hand, and took it outside. When I got back, they had the most shocked expressions on their faces. I shrugged at their faces, said, ‘I am a Black Widow too’, and the name stuck.”

“We weren’t freaking out,” Tony muttered, causing Natasha to raise an eyebrow at him. “Fine. We might have a little bit. So, a few years back, I had a bit of surgery. Due to all the stuff I was on, I ended up with an abnormally high level of iron in my blood. The Doctors would joke that I was a walking Iron Man. It stuck.” Tony put a hand on Rhodey’s shoulder, who was sitting on the chair’s armrest. “Now War Machine here, the song was playing when we first met. It was love at first sight.”

Tony looked up at Rhodey, putting on his most loving face. Rhodey rolled his eyes, pushing Tony’s face away.

“You’re funny,” he turned to look at James. “He has half a dozen names for me, probably more. Don’t ask about them all, you’ll be here all week. Don’t know what’s wrong with my actual name.”

“What, James?” Tony shook his head. “Too boring, Platypus.”

Carol rolled her eyes, turning to face James. “Ignore them. They’ll be like this for  _ hours  _ if we let them.”

“You’re just jealous of our relationship, Marvel!”

“Keep telling yourself that Stark,” Carol called back, before smiling at James. “So during high school, the papers would call me Captain Marvellous. I lead every team I was on to victory, as well as dominating individual sports. People shortened it to Captain Marvel.”

“You are a very varied group,” James said, looking around at the group.

“And this isn’t even all of us,” Clint told him. “I guess they’ll be here tomorrow?”

“Guess so,” Tony said around his food. “And I guess you’re all stuck here for the night.”

“Huh?”

“The roads aren’t safe,” Carol said, pulling out her phone to show them pictures. “We just got here before it really started. No one’s driving anywhere tonight.”

“Good thing there’s plenty of space in the house then,” Sam observed, before pointing at all the food. “And plenty of food.”

“Well, we assumed Cap and Thor would be here,” Rhodey said around his mouthful. “Brought enough for everyone.”

“They’ll be here when they can be,” Carol offered, smiling at Rhodey. “You did the right thing.”

Rhodey looked down at his food, smiling. Carol went over to pat Rhodey’s head, before getting herself a plate of food.

The conversations started up again; Sam, Natasha and Carol on one couch; Tony, Jan, and Rhodey on the other. Clint was eating his food, while James watched everything with a smile, having finished his food already.

“You have a great group of friends.”

“Yeah?” Clint smiled at James, swallowing his mouthful of food. James reached out to wipe a stray crumb off of the corner of Clint’s mouth.

“Yeah.”

They stared at each other, until the sound of a camera shutter broke their moment; they turned to see Jan sitting in front of them, head in her phone.

“Jan…”

She looked up, smiling as she continued typing. “Clint?”

“You better not be posting a photo of us.”

“Who, me?” Jan fluttered her eyelashes innocently; Clint narrowed his eyes at her. Jan held up her hand, stopping Clint. “I promise I didn’t post a photo of you and your boyfriend to the internet.”

“Good,” Clint said, before everyone’s phones rang simultaneously. Jan smiled innocently as Clint kept an eye on her, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

 

**From: Wasp (6.42pm)**

**To: Group: Avengers**

**[** They’re sooooooooooo cute!!! **]** ****  
**  
** “Jan,” Clint rolled his eyes, but Jan was already on the other side of the room, sitting next to Carol.

“You know it’s true!” She called back, smile wide. The room was filled with agreements, and the sound of food being eaten and conversations starting again.

“Is Lucky supposed to be eating pizza?”

Clint followed James’ eye line, and laughed. Lucky had obtained a plate with several slices of pizza on it, and was laying in front of the heater. He looked very content. “No one can stop Lucky from eating pizza.”

“Something he picked up from you?” James nodded towards Clint’s plate, which was filled with only pizza. Clint offered James a smile, before eating another slice.

“Maybe,” Clint muttered around a mouthful. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”

James laughed, before  the sound of people clearing the food began. Clint stood up, shoving the rest of his pizza into his mouth,  and helped, insisting that James stayed sitting.

“Movie time!” Tony declared, pressing some buttons on the wall which caused a projector screen to lower, and the room to dim its lights. “We’ll start with a classic.”

The group groaned as the Star Wars music began to play.

Clint sat back down next to James, resting his head on James’ shoulder. “We always watch Star Wars,” he told James. “It’s tradition. Tony picks apart the science, everyone picks apart the plot. It’s great fun.”

Clint was right; James had watched the Star Wars films countless times, but watching them with these people made it feel like the first time he’d seen them. 

The movie played with subtitles; they didn’t even have to be requested. James smiled at these people; they were clearly very close, all looking out for each other.

During the film, James had noticed Natasha keeping an eye on him. Subtly, he reached out to take Clint’s hand in his own. That seemed to placate Natasha, who returned her attention to the film.

And if he moved closer to Clint during the film? Well, James  _ was  _ supposed to be Clint’s boyfriend. It would be suspicious if he  _ didn’t  _ sit close to him during the movie.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> The amount of love this is getting is amazing, and makes me very happy.  
> See you next time
> 
> Preview for next chapter:  
> A very audible crash from upstairs caused the room to fall silent.  
> “What the hell?” Tony said, standing.  
> “Is someone breaking in?” James asked Clint.  
> “No way, no one can break into Stark’s place.”  
> “Technically, that’s not true.”  
> All eyes in the room turned to look at the snow covered man standing in the doorway.  
> “Hi?”  
> (I wonder who just appeared... via breaking in... to an unbreakable-into place....)


	6. Why the Millennium Falcon isn’t a viable ship.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone breaks in. This person is not a surprise to the group.  
> And the next chapter is set up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just over a month. Hi again :)  
> And no one guessed the surprise guest.  
> This was originally gonna be a lot longer, but the second part of the chapter wasn't working, so I've ended where I have and will continue to try and write that second half.
> 
> Enjoy :)

The group was about half way through  _ Empire Strikes Back  _ when a very audible crash from upstairs caused the room to fall silent.

(Tony and Rhodey had been in the middle of drawing a diagram explaining  _ why  _ the Millennium Falcon wasn’t a viable ship. James had been fascinated; the two had clearly gone through this many times.)

All heads looked up at the unusual noise.

“What the hell?” Tony said, pausing the movie and standing up.

“Is someone breaking in?” James asked Clint. Clint shook his head, frowning at Tony.

“No way, no one can break into Stark’s place.”

“Technically, that’s not true.”

All eyes in the room turned to look at the snow covered man standing in the doorway. He raised a hand and waved.

“Hi?”

“Damn it Scott,” Tony muttered, coming over to push Scott towards the door. “Is there a reason you don’t like using the door?”

Scott shrugged as he took off his snow covered  jacket. “I like windows?”

“Stop breaking my stuff,” Tony said, in what sounded like an often repeated phrase, as he put Scott’s coat up on the coat hanger. (Scott had dropped it to the ground.)

“I don’t break your stuff,” Scott rolled his eyes, taking off his shoes and placing them by the door. (Tony put them in the proper place after Scott stepped away.)

“Yes, you don’t break my stuff. The same way that you’re not leaving snow  _ everywhere _ .”

Scott paused, looking at the trail of snow that followed him. “Oops?”

Tony shook his head, pointing to the lounge area. Scott shrugged, clapping a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Always good to see you.” Scott walked over to the lounge area, before frowning. “No food? I’m hurt.”

“To be fair, we did not know you were coming,” Tony said, having set a…  _ Roomba _ ( _?  _ it didn’t look like any Roomba James had ever seen, considering it clearly had  _ arms? _ ), to clean up the snow. He walked back to his seat, shaking his head. 

“Why didn’t you know I was coming? I texted you.”

“No you didn’t. Why are you this way?” Tony shook his head at Scott, before he pointed a finger at Sam. “I blame you.”

Sam held up his hands. “Why is this my fault?”

“You’re the one dating him.”

“But he was hanging around long before that.” Sam pointed at Jan. “Blame her.”

“Aww, it’s great to know you love me,” Scott sighed dramatically, dropping into Sam’s lap.

Sam shook his head. “Sometimes you test me, Tic Tac.” Sam then produced a plateful of food, which Scott eagerly dug into. 

“Hey gang,” Scott spoke with a mouthful of food, everyone waving back. He then saw James, and frowned. “Who are you?”

“Clint’s  _ boyfriend _ ,” Jan answered, moving to sit on the floor next to Scott. Scott turned to Jan, confusion on his face.

“What happened to Wade?”

Clint groaned, dropping his head on James’ shoulder. “I never dated Wade! Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Have you  _ seen  _ the dude’s feed? Full of talk about you.”

Clint groaned again. “We never dated.”

“You sleep together?”

Clint remained silent, closing his eyes.

“Ooh! Trouble in paradise,” Scott said. Sam pinched his side, causing him to stop. “Ow! Okay, fine. What is boyfriend’s name?”

“James,” James spoke up, rubbing Clint’s arm. “Now what’s this about breaking in?”

Scott’s face lit up; Sam shook his head.

“No, no talking about breaking in when  _ you are around law enforcement _ .”

Scott looked at Carol, who shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not technically law enforcement Sam. I’m more law enforcement-  _ adjacent _ ..”

“That sounds like permission to me!” Scott smiled, turning back to James. “Alright, so the first time I met Stark-” Scott squeaked, turning to give Sam a frown. “Why are you like this?”

“Why are you?”

Scott rolled his eyes, turning back to James. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Scott works in security,” Jan told James, having appeared sitting on the table opposite him. Clint sat up, running a hand through his hair. 

James was confused.  _ This is not normal by  _ any  _ definition of the word.  _ “The guy who works security goes around breaking into places?”

“Not a lot of places,” Jan shrugged a shoulder. “Companies hire him to break in, find any weak spots and fix them. He’s good at his job.”

“Aww, Jan, you’re the best!” Scott called out to her. She gave him a smile over her shoulder, before turning back to James.

“He’s basically my cousin,” she leant closer, as if telling a secret. “He’s a loser, but his heart’s in the right place.”

“I heard that.”

Jan smiled, before standing up and going over to sit with Natasha.

“She really does float around,” James said to Clint.

“She’s Jan. It’s who she is.”

“If everyone doesn’t mind,” Tony spoke up, bringing the attention to him. “We have a movie to watch. Before it was interrupted.” Tony looked at Scott, who held up his hands (which were holding a slice of pizza in each).

“Sorry,” he mumbled with a mouthful of pizza; Tony rolled his eyes, and resumed the movie. James moved to take Clint’s hand again, enjoying the contact.

 

~~~

 

The ended up watching the entire original trilogy without any more people breaking in through the windows, before the yawning became too contagious to ignore.

“Alright!” Tony clapped his hands, causing the lights to come back on. He stood up in the middle of the room. “All this yawning is clearly a sign. I have plenty of rooms, and a change of clothes for those who didn’t bring any. Shall we?”

One by one, they followed Tony out of the room. Clint and James were at the back of the group, Clint holding onto James’ hand like a lifeline. James had his backpack, the only one who was carrying a bag.

“So, here we go,” Tony opened the door, sweeping an arm inside. “A bed, ensuite, change of clothes. I shall see the two of you in the morning.” With a wink, Tony closed the door behind him.

“Okay…” Clint rubbed the back of his neck as he walked over to the bed, sitting down on it. “So this isn’t awkward or anything.”

James laughed, looking around the room. It was  _ huge _ . “So this is a spare room?”

Clint nodded, looking around also. “Yeah, nothing about Stark is small.”

James looked at Clint, one eyebrow raised. Clint’s eyes went wide, and he started shaking his head and waving his hands.

“No! No, not like… I haven’t… well, there was that… aww, mouth, no.” Clint shook his head, covering his face with his hands. “Pretend that whole conversation never happened. Please?”

James smiled, coming to sit next to Clint. He put his hand on Clint’s shoulder. “It’s okay Clint. I was just messing with you.”

Clint smiled. “I get that. In case you haven’t noticed yet, I tend to speak without thinking. A lot.”

“You know, I hadn’t noticed.”

Clint shook his head. “Right, I’m gonna have a shower. Unless you want to?”

When James shook his head, Clint stood up, looking in the drawers for some clothes. “I’ll be back.”

“That was a terrible impression.”

Clint smiled, turning and going into the ensuite. Clint let out a low whistle as he closed the door behind him. This place  _ never  _ stopped being amazing, no matter how many times he had crashed here over the years.

Clint dropped his change of clothes onto the floor, before looking at himself in the mirror. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Quite a mess you’re in,” he told himself, before shaking his head and taking out his hearing aids.  _ Might as well take a moment to breath. And maybe think about how you’re gonna get out of this one in one piece. Especially when he figures out that maybe you’re interested in  _ more  _ than a fake relationship. _

 

~~~

 

James let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding when Clint closed the door, standing up and looking for a change of clothes. Finding a shirt and pants, he turned back to the bed, frowning at it.

“How do you even get into these messes, Barnes?” James asked himself, throwing the clothes onto the bed. He took off his shirt, putting it on a chair in the corner of the room. He turned his back on the mirror in the room, reaching up to remove his prosthetic. He put it on the bed, and picked up the shirt he had got out of the drawer. Quickly putting it on, James changed pants, folding his own to rest on top of the shirt. He then sat down on the bed, prosthetic next to him. His back was to the mirror still, legs folded underneath him.

James sat staring into nothing, as he often did at night. He tried to focus his breathing, but it wasn’t easy.  _ It was supposed to be simple. No strings. What are you  _ doing  _ here? _

James shook his head, reaching underneath his shirt to rub at his chest.

“You okay?”

James turned around on the bed; Clint was standing just in front of the ensuite,, head tilted. He was wearing a borrowed pair of pants and shirt, and his hair was wet from his shower.

James offered a shrug,  _ not really _ , he wanted to say, before closing his mouth. He then nodded at the prosthetic sitting on the bed next to him. “It’s been on all day. Usually, I’d use some cream, but I didn’t bring any.”  _ Good enough _ .

Clint nodded, thinking for a moment, before holding up a hand. “Wait a minute.”

James frowned as Clint left the room, wondering what he was up to. James stood up, putting his prosthetic on the dressing table, before returning to the bed with his backpack. Sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed, he got his phone out, which he had not turned on before now, and saw thirty missed calls, and forty seven text messages. He rolled his eyes,  knowing who they were from, before going to the most recent message.

 

**From: Punk (12.15am)**

**[** I hope youre not stuck at the airport in this storm **]**

 

James couldn’t help the smile on his face as he replied, knowing the reaction what he was about to write would cause.

 

**To: Punk (12.34am)**

**[** Im fine. Staying with a friend. **]**

 

_ And three, two, one,  _ James’ phone vibrated, just as he knew it would.

 

**From: Punk (12.35am)**

**[** Oh, youre alive? Nice to know. Been too busy to reply? **]**

 

James was typing a reply when another message came through, causing James to burst out laughing.

 

**From: Punk (12.35am)**

**[** Wait. You have a friend? **]**

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Couple of things:  
> -This now has a series, where I tell side stories. 'First Meetings' has three chapters;  
> -Carol & Rhodey  
> -Natasha & Pepper  
> -Sam & Scott (coming soon)  
> -Scott/Sam came from a suggestion on Tumblr. It fit, so it happened.  
> -What is a fake relationship AU without a sharing the bed trope?
> 
> See you next time :)


	7. We have to share the bed. We're in a relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get some backstories.  
> And that most beautiful trope of all, 'there's only one bed!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Pumpkin, and everyone who has ever left me a lovely comment.  
> You're the real MVPs.

Tony opened his bedroom door to Clint standing there, wide eyed and shaking his head. He had a couple of containers in his arms.

“Barton. Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

Clint pointed down the hallway. “Just saw Sam and Scott. Some things… just aren’t natural. I grew up in a circus, and even I’m having trouble figuring how they managed-”   
Tony took a step forward, so that he was in Clint’s line of sight. “Barton.”   
Clint closed his mouth, taking in Tony’s expression. “Right. Sorry. Sorry. I’m here for an important reason. Do you have any cream?”

Tony blinked, tilting his head. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific.”   
“Cream,” Clint repeated, shifting the containers already in his arms.  “Like for scars and… stuff?”   
“Scars and stuff.” Tony shook his head, turning back into his room. Clint waited nervously, hoping that Tony would come back with something.

He hadn’t been expecting an armful of creams. 

“Where?” Was Clint’s only question.

Tony shrugged. “I go through a lot, and different brands work at different times. Do you really want to spend this time finding out why I am the way I am, or do you want to get back to that beautiful boyfriend of yours?”

“My boyfriend?” Clint stumbled out, before nodding furiously. “Right, right. Yes, I should… go. Thanks Tony.”

Tony shook his head, watching Clint walk down the hallway.  _ He’s still a strange kid.  _

 

~~~

 

“You know, I don’t think I have heard you laugh like that.”

James turned off his phone, putting it into his bag and looking at Clint, who was closing the door with his shoulder. Clint was holding an armful of containers. 

“What have you got?”

Clint dropped the containers onto the bed, before sitting across from James. He scratched the back of his neck, and kept his eyes on the containers.

“Would any of these help?”

James leant forward, looking at the containers. He found a container that was the same as what he uses. Opening it, he looked at Clint.

“Where’d you get these?”

“Couple of places. I knocked on doors, asked for anything that might help with a massage.” He looked up at James, a smile on his face. “Pretty sure I interrupted something involving Scott and Sam and a position that I can’t understand the physics of.”

James nodded. “Thank you.”

They stared at each other for a moment, before Clint cleared his throat. “Ah, you want me to turn around?”

“Maybe that’d be for the best.”

Clint nodded, taking the spare containers before turning around and sitting on the floor with his back to the bed. He heard James take off his shirt, and the occasional grunt as he pressed into his skin.

“Does it hurt? I mean, don’t answer if you don’t want to. Don’t feel obliged to-”

“-You ever use a muscle so much, you don’t notice how much it hurts until you stop?”

Clint nodded, then remembered that he wasn’t in James’ line of sight.. “Yeah.”

“Well, it’s like that. Except not at all. But sort of.” Clint heard James blow out a breath, and the sound of massaging went away. “I’m not explaining this well.”

“Do you mind if I turn around?”

“Go ahead.”

Clint turned around, looking up over the top of the bed. “You don’t have to try and find the perfect explanation of how it hurts. How you described it is enough.”

James was staring at Clint, expression unreadable.

“Did I say something wrong?”

James shook his head straight away. “No, no. It’s just… you’re the first person in… well, a long time, to see me like this and not stare at it.”

Clint moved so that he was sitting on the bed opposite James, not looking away from his eyes. “I figured if you want me to look at it, you’d say something.”

James looked at Clint again, that expression still unreadable.

“Is that a good look or a bad look? Cause I’m seeing it, I’m seeing it a lot,  and I still can’t figure it out.”

James shook his head, then held the container out to Clint. “Would you mind? There’s a spot, on my back, I can’t reach it.” 

“You trust me?” Clint asked, taking the container and moving closer. James gave him a look as he turned around.

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” James asked, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I give you permission to look at my back,” James added, when Clint hadn’t moved.

Clint settled behind James, looking at the scarring that crossed his back. 

“Between my spine and shoulder blade,” James said, keeping his head down. “You’ll need to rub it in. It won’t hurt me.”

_ Okay, I can do this,  _ Clint thought, looking at the cream in his hand. “How much?”

James laughed at that. “Um, enough? I’m sorry, I don’t think about this in measurements. I’ll tell you if you need more.”

“Okay,” Clint rubbed his hands together to warm them up a bit, before scooping out some cream. “How do you do this alone?”

“I have my ways.”

_ Duh,  _ Clint thinks to himself, before leaning forward and putting his hand on James’ back. He pushed lightly, waiting for a reaction.

“Gonna have to be harder than that.”

“Alright,” Clint moved to his knees, putting a bit more force behind his hands.

“Perfect.”

“That’s the first time someone’s used that word around me,” Clint muttered, watching his hands work the cream into James’ back.

“So perfect,” James said again, ignoring what Clint had said. The words were almost like a moan. Clint shook his head,  _ don’t go hearing things. _

“The scar there is from before I lost my arm,” James said in the silence, head hanging down. Clint didn’t pause in his massage, letting James talk. “I was eight. My sister was… six months old. Yeah. We were at home, mum cooking dinner. I was… I don’t really remember. But I saw Bec- my sister- she was pulling something, and I ran over to her. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in hospital. Mum says there was a massive crash, she came running in, Bec was on her back, crying, and I was unconscious underneath a glass vase. She still has the glass that was in my back. Bec brings out the story when she wants someone to be impressed. ‘My big brother, saving me since before I can remember’.” James shook his head, wiping at his eyes. “I barely remember it. I don’t… you’re the first person I have told that story to without being prompted by somebody else.”

“Thank you,” Clint said, stopping the massage. “Do you need more?”

James shook his head, turning around to put his shirt back on. “No. Thank you. Not just for the massage.”

“No problem,” Clint smiled, putting the lid back on the container. “What are fake boyfriends for?”

James smiled, closing his eyes. “Yeah.”  _ Fake boyfriends. Right. _

“So, I guess this is where it gets awkward,” Clint said, gesturing to the bed. James shrugged, pushing back the covers.

“Only if you want it to be awkward.”

“You’re right,” Clint got up to turn off the light, leaving only the light from the lamp beside the bed. He got into the bed, sitting up and looking at his hands.

“Clint?”

“I’ve got to take them out,” Clint pointed at his ears, but didn’t look at James. “And I don’t normally take them out when I’m in bed with someone I’ve just met. Which, even though you’re great, we have only really  just met. And it’s… it’s stupid, I know. But I’m.” Clint pushed the sheets off of him, moving to get out of the bed.  “I’m going to sleep on the floor.”

“What?” James was now sitting up, looking at Clint.

Clint shrugged a shoulder, offering James a forced smile over his shoulder. “It’s not the worst place I’ve ever slept.”

James did not even know where to begin with that statement, so chose to focus on the matter at hand. “You are not sleeping on the floor.” James pushed back the covers. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No,” Clint turned around and reached out, putting his hand on James’ leg. “No way. You’re not sleeping on the ground.”

“Well neither are you.”

Clint crossed his arms, frowning at James. James met his glare with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ve never met someone more stubborn than me,” Clint grumbled, moving back into the bed. He pulled the sheets up, but didn’t lie down yet.

“What happens if you wear them overnight?”

Clint stuck out his tongue, screwing up his face. “They feel yuck, my ears hurt, I regret it every time,” Clint shrugged. “Basically, I avoid it.”

James looked at Clint with that unreadable expression of his. “But you don’t feel comfortable enough around me to take them out?”

Clint rubbed the back of his neck nervously, looking down at the sheets. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” James shook his head. “If you need to leave them in, you leave them in. I promise that I won’t leave this bed without telling you.”

Clint thought for a couple of minutes, during which James did not move.  _ On the one hand, wearing them  _ sucks _ in the morning. I also don’t have spare batteries. I also really don’t know this guy. _

_ But on the other hand… he’s trusted  _ me _. No one does that. _

_ Unless they have an ulterior motive. _

_ Shut up Nat-part of my brain. _

Clint blew out a breath, reaching up to take out his aids. “I’m trusting you,” Clint said as he put them on the bedside table. “Don’t make me regret it.”

James gave Clint a smile. “Good night.”

Clint leant over to turn off the lamp. “Goodnight James.”

Closing his eyes, Clint rolled onto his side, hoping that when he woke up in the morning, that this didn’t blow up in his face. 

While Clint was thinking this, James was thinking along similar lines.

_ Hopefully when I wake up I’ll still be able to look him in the eyes. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Please let me know what you thought/anything you might like to see in coming chapters?  
> Next chapter:  
> The moment I first wrote back in April. (April 3rd, to be exact).  
> The moment everyone has been waiting for.
> 
> “How are you so calm over this?”  
> “One of us have to be. Plus, I'm used to thinking on my feet. We'll get through this.”  
> “But how? First, turns out that you worked with my best friend for three months in Europe four years ago. Then, as if that wasn't a big enough hurdle, your best friend since forever walks in, and wants to know why you didn't let him know you were in town! And how we've seen enough of each other to be in a serious relationship, while you haven't talked to him in person in almost five years! So please, share with me how you're so freaking calm.”


	8. In which Jan lives up to her namesake

James was woken up by beams of light poking through the curtains. Last night had been his first solid sleep in  _ ages _ . 

Which makes less than zero sense, if he spends any substantial amount of time thinking about it. He has just shared a bed with a complete stranger; he should not be this comfortable.

Yet here he was.

He pushed himself up, looking down at Clint. Clint was still sound asleep, his face looking more peaceful than James had ever seen him.

_ You’ve known the guy a day, idiot. Of course you’ve never seen him this peaceful. You’ve also never seen him angry, hurt, sad… _

James shook his head, closing his eyes. His mind certainly knew how to keep him awake.

“You alright?”

James opened his eyes; Clint was staring up at him, eyes open. 

“I’m fine,” James smiled. Clint smiled back.

“I’m gonna assume you said you’re fine. Because it looks like that’s what you’d say.” Clint sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed before turning his head to face James. “ I’m going to have a shower, you don’t mind?”

James shook his head.

“Okay. You should do… whatever.” Clint waved a hand as he stood and headed into the bathroom. 

James blew out a breath that he didn’t realise he had been holding.  _ Probably a good thing that he didn’t expect you to answer back. Who knows what you would have said. _

James frowned as he got out of the bed, going to retrieve his arm.  He brought it over to the bed, sitting on the side. He sighed, taking off his shirt so that he could put the arm on. Normally, he wouldn’t put it on before breakfast, but this is far from a normal instance. 

_ Maybe some space,  _ he thought, putting his shirt on, then a jacket, before leaving the room to go get some coffee.

 

~~~

 

“Idiot,” Clint muttered as he closed the bathroom door behind him. “Idiot, idiot, idiot. ‘You alright’? What kind of sentence is that?”

Clint stared at his reflection, frowning at it. “Idiot. Natasha would slap you.”

Clint had woken up to the most beautiful sight he had ever seen; a literal model in his bed. 

But it was more than that. The way the light was filtering in just enough to make James look like he was glowing, the way that the other man was staring off into nothing.

It was then that Clint realised that the other man was not looking right. 

Of course James had said he was fine. Or mine. Or line.

_ Probably not mine.  _

Clint had to get out of the room, before he said something stupid. Which led to him being in here, staring at his reflection like it had caused him great harm.

Which, it had. Sort of.

“Idiot.”

 

~~~

 

“Good morning James. Coffee?”

James blinked at the cup being offered to him. “What?” He was pretty sure he had been alone in the room a moment before.

Jan smiled, making sure that James took the cup before reaching for her own. “You’re dating Clint; you’re gonna be a fan of coffee. Come sit down.”

James followed Jan to one of the couches, sitting next to her. Lucky came over to sit by Jan’s feet.

“Hey Lucky,” she reached down to pat the dog, smile never falling from her face.

“How are you so…” James trailed off, not finding the right word.

Jan looked back at James. “You’re asking how I can possibly be so awake at such an early time, aren’t you?”

James nodded. “Yeah, I thought I’d be the only one up.”

Jan shook her head, taking a sip of her coffee. “No, I’ve already run five kilometres this morning, updated my three blogs, had a shower, and designed a new dress.”

“Uh, that sounds like a lot of work.”

“It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn’t really.” Jan leant forward like she was sharing a secret. “See, I update the blogs while running on the treadmill . And the dress came to me in the shower, so it was a quick sketch when I was out.”

“Still, pretty impressive.” James paused to drink some of his coffee, before thinking of something to say. “ What kind of dress, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Jan’s face lit up; she put her cup on the table in front of them, and jumped over the back of the couch and went to the kitchen. She reached into what James assumed was a cutlery drawer, and returned with a tablet.

“What was that doing in the drawer?”

Jan smiled as she typed on the tablet, watching James. “This is a Stark Place; there’s probably a tablet for every square foot of space.”

“Uh, wow.”

“I’ve known Tony since we were kids,” Jan continued to talk to James while typing on the tablet, without looking down.  _ That  _ was a pretty impressive skill. “You’ve only just met him, so you won’t understand some of his… quirks are the best word. Yeah. Trust me though; Tony is a great guy.”

“I never doubted it.”

“Good.” Jan turned around the tablet, holding it in one hand as she grabbed her coffee. “Tadaa! A Van Dyne original.”

James, who was impressed with the design, looked past the tablet at the name. “Van Dyne? As in…”

“Janet Van Dyne, Designer to the stars!” Jan smiled, lowering the tablet and nodding. “Yes, it is I. Are you one of my followers?”

“No, I mean, yes. Yes, I follow your design blog. But… I’ve worn your designs before.”

“What?” Jan put down her coffee, leaning forward to look at James. “When?”

James put his own coffee down, pushing his hair out of his face. “I’m, huh. I’m a model. Paris ‘15, that was your debut in Europe? I wore the three piece with the yellow accents.”

Jan’s eyes went wide, and she began typing on the tablet again. This time, her eyes were focused on the tablet.

“Hey James.”

James looked up, and offered Tony a wave. “Hey.”

Tony looked at Jan before looking back at James. “You broke Jan. Nobody’s done that in a while.”

“I didn’t mean to?”

Tony held up a hand. “Not a problem.” Tony walked into the kitchen, while Jan turned the tablet around. 

The tablet was showing a picture of James in the suit, standing next to the other models for the show. Jan was standing in the middle.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

Jan nodded, eyes still wide.

“Jan?” Tony returned with his cup of coffee. “What’s up?”

Jan turned the tablet to Tony, who squinted at it. 

“This clears up nothing.”

Jan hit Tony with the tablet, causing Tony to retreat to another couch.

“I’ve worked with him!” She finally spoke, gesturing to James. “Last year! In Europe.  _ You  _ were there!  _ You  _ took this photo”

“Jan, you have worked with hundreds of people. It’s not your fault you don’t remember. No offense James.”

“None taken.”

“Not the point!” Jan stood up, pushing Tony’s shoulder as she sat beside him. “How could I not recognise him?”

Tony put his coffee down, before it got spilt. “It’s okay Jan. Not a problem.”

“Not a problem he says,” Jan shook her head, before picking up a pillow and hitting Tony with it. “It  _ is  _ a problem!”

“Jan, honey, please stop,” Tony spoke, but didn’t seem to try too hard to stop her. She eventually stopped, dropping the pillow and collapsing dramatically onto Tony’s shoulder. “There you go.”

“But I forgot him,” Jan sighed, looking upset. James hated the fact that he had put that look on her face, so he took a gamble. What he was about to say would either brighten her day, or cause her to be more upset. He was leaning towards the former option.

_ Only one way to find out. _

“I liked the dress. Very modern. When will it be debuting?”

Just like James predicted, this caused Jan to sit up and fly back over to the couch. She picked up the tablet, pointing at parts of the dress and explaining each to James.

James made eye contact with Tony, who gave him an approving nod.

“So, when’s food getting here?” Scott said as he entered the room, pulling a tired looking Sam behind him.

“You are very obsessed with food,” Tony pointed at him across the room. Scott shrugged, sitting down on the couch opposite Tony and pulling Sam down with him.

“What can I say? I have a big appetite.”

“Ew,” Tony poked his tongue out at Scott, who sighed dramatically and turned to Jan.

“Jan, Tony’s being mean to me.”

Tony held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not the one who traumatised Clint last night.”

Scott frowned, evidently confused. “What?”

“Last night?” Tony leant forward, watching Scott. Sam, having already figured out where this was going, walked off, muttering something about obtaining coffee.

“Oh,” Scott laughed when he remembered. “That. Don’t know what he’s complaining about; that kid is way more flexible than any of us.”

“What?” James said, confused by the conversation.

Scott turned to him with an all too cheerful expression on his face. “See, Clint might claim differently, but if anyone in this group can hold the title of human pretzel, it’s him.”

“Scott isn’t lying,” Sam said as he walked into the room, holding two cups of coffee. He handed one to Scott, who smiled widely. “This time, anyway. I have  _ seen _ Clint turn into a human pretzel. You should ask him to demonstrate sometime.”

“Who’s demonstrating what?” Clint chose that moment to walk into the room, climbing over the back of the couch and sitting beside James, taking a drink from James’s coffee. His hair was still wet from his shower.

“You just take my coffee without asking?”

Clint nodded. “Yup. Don’t matter whose it is. Anyway, who’s demonstrating what?”

Scott answered. “You’re demonstrating that you are a human pretzel.”

Unfortunately, Clint chose that moment to take a drink, and ended up spitting it out. 

“You okay?” James asked, looking at him worriedly. Clint waved a hand.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve done worse.” Clint pointed a finger at Scott, narrowing his eyes. “Now, you,  _ Lang _ , you best watch after yourself.”

Scott shrugged, drinking his coffee. “I like where I’m sitting.”

Sam shook his head, moving to sit beside Tony. “Nope. I’m not being part of another Barton Lang prank war.”

“Another?”

Clint shrugged. “There’s been a few.”

“There’s been seven,” Tony narrowed his eyes at Scott. “This month alone.”

Scott raised his hands. “Hey! Only three of those were my fault.”

“Still,” Tony shook his head. “I’ve  _ just  _ gotten the stains out.”

Clint laughed at a memory. “Right, the fake blood. That was a good one.”

“You were the  _ victim _ ,” Tony pointed out incredulously.

“So? I can acknowledge when I’ve been pranked.” Clint looked around, frowning. “Where’s Nat?”

“She’s clearing the driveway of snow,” Jan answered. “I offered help. She wanted to do it alone. Said it was good thinking time.”

“Pretty sure she’s plotting something,” Scott said.

“She’s  _ always  _ plotting something.” Jan replied, looking at her phone. “Hey! Cap’s two minutes away. He says Thor went overboard with the cooking.”

“What,  _ Thor  _ go  _ overboard  _ with cooking?” Sam shook his head. “Never happened.”

“Never gonna happen,” Tony nodded his head in agreement. 

James looked at the group, who all shared the same expression. “I’m guessing Thor always overcooks?”

“ _ Always, _ ” Clint said, putting a hand on James’s shoulder. “The guy does not understand the meaning of overcooking. He thinks it’s the right amount.”

“He’s a great cook,” Scott added, poking his tongue out when Clint turned a hurt expression on him. “Makes the best croissants.”

“But always makes too much. Not that Lucky complains.”

Lucky perked up at that, moving over to sit in front of Clint. 

“Is Thor overcooking  _ again _ ,” Carol came in, holding two cups of coffee.

“We’re assuming that the answer is going to be yes,” Tony answered, holding out his hand as Carol passed. She smiled, holding the cup out of reach. 

“Just because Jim lets you drink it, doesn’t mean you get it first.”

“Just give him the cup,” Rhodey came in, sitting next to Carol. “He’s gonna take it anyway.”

Carol gave the cup to Tony, who smiled widely. “Thank you Carol.”

Carol rolled her eyes, drinking her own cup. “So, food?”

“Should be here any moment.”

On cue, the door opened. Natasha entered first, carrying two trays of food. She brought it in, placing it on the table.  Each tray held thirty baked good on it, easily.

“He’s outdone himself,” she spoke as she uncovered the trays, taking a croissant and sitting beside Jan. “Seriously. He and Cap both have two trays each.”  
  
“You might as well start eating,” Clint said to James, leaning forward and getting two croissants, handing one to James. “Once everyone starts eating, you won’t have much choice.”  
  
James took a bite, and fell in love. “Wow, this is amazing.”

“Thank you,” a new voice said, entering the room with two more trays. “At least someone here appreciates my baking.”

“James,” James nodded. “Seriously, though? Amazing. You make them this morning?”

“Thor, and yes, yes I did.” Thor looked around the room, where everyone was eating. “No one else has thanks?”

“See, we’ve been thanking you for  _ years, _ ” Clint said with his mouth full of food. “James just has a long way to go to make up for it.”

“Is Clint already talking with his mouth full?” A new voice said, after the sound of the front door closing.

James froze at the sound, lowering the croissant from his mouth.  _ No way. It isn’t possible. _

“Cap!” Tony smiled, waving his cup at the newcomer. “Come in and meet the new person. James, meet Cap.”

James watched as Cap entered the room, and put down the two trays that he had carried in. He then pulled off his beanie, and turned to face James with a smile. 

That smile fell, and his eyes widened. “ _ Bucky _ ?”

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.  
> I fully intended to have this chapter be when Steve arrived, but then I wrote some more team dynamics, and the chapter ran away...  
> I hope to have the next chapter done by the 25th.  
> Thanks for reading, see you next time :)


	9. That all you got to say?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's here!  
> And maybe James and Clint weren't prepared for that.  
> Maybe.

“ _ Bucky _ ?”

“Who the hell is Bucky?” Tony asked, as everyone in the room stared between Steve and James. 

James stood up, and turned to face Steve. Unlike previously, his shoulders were hunched in slightly, and his head was lowered. He was looking up at Steve, despite being basically the same height. “Hey Steve.”

“Wait,” Tony held up a hand, pointing it between Steve and James. “How do you know his name?”

“Bucky,” Steve shook his head, smiling wide,  before coming over and throwing his arms around James’s shoulders. James smiled, putting his arm around Steve’s back. He seemed to relax, minutely. 

“Good to see you too,” James smiled as they parted, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Steve pushed at James’s right shoulder. “What the hell?”

“Surprise?” James winced at the word, not looking convinced by his own words. 

“Surprise? That all you got to say for yourself? Five years, Buck. Five. Years.”

“I'm back now?”

“For how long?”

James looked at Clint, before looking back at Steve. “A while.”

Steve frowned. “A while?”

“For those of us who have no clue what the hell is going on,” Tony walked over, putting a hand on Steve's shoulder. “Which I'm guessing is everyone except you two. Care to share with the class?”

Steve blew a breath out before turning to Tony. “I've told you about my best friend, right?”

“Only every day since we met,” Tony smiled, before nodding. “Yeah, you've mentioned him once or twice.”

Steve waved a hand at James. “Here he is.”

Tony blinked at James, looking between him, Clint, and Steve.

“Your best friend is dating Clint?”

Steve turned to Clint, eyes wide. “You're dating….” He then turned to Bucky, frowning. “You're dating Clint? What the hell?”

James was about to reply, when he looked at Clint, who was watching the situation with wide eyes and shallow breaths.

“This is better than a soap opera,” Scott said. Everyone else in the room shushed him.

“Shut up, you don’t want to miss anything,” Sam muttered under his breath, to which Scott held up his hands and mimed zipping his mouth shut.

James blew out a breath, turning back to Steve and holding up his hand. “I will explain everything, but I think Clint needs some fresh air.”

Everyone turned to face Clint, who continued to look spaced out.

“Do I?” Clint asked no one, not sounding like himself.

James held out a hand to pull Clint up to his feet; Clint went without a complaint. James then put his arm around Clint’s shoulders, smiling at the crowd. “Yeah, give us a minute?”

James turned and lead Clint out of the room before anyone else could reply.

“So,” Steve turned to the room with a raised eyebrow. “What’s he really doing here? Who organised this?”

“He’s Clint’s boyfriend,” Tony said slowly. Steve shook his head.

“No way.”

“Remember the photo Clint sent?” Natasha asked. 

Steve pulled out his phone, bringing up the photo. He zoomed in, looking at it closely,  before hitting his forehead with his phone. “I  _ knew  _ he looked familiar.”

“Way better than a soap opera,” Scott declared. This time, no one stopped him, all in agreement.

 

~

 

Rather than taking Clint outside, James lead them up the stairs. He stopped outside their room from last night, Clint sitting down and leaning back against the door.

James sat across from him, watching Clint. Clint didn’t speak, just looking at James.

“Say anything?” James asked after another minute of silence.

Clint swallowed, looking away from James before looking back. “What just happened?”

“Steve. I’ve known him since we were kids.”

Clint nodded, thinking for a moment. He seemed to come to some sort of decision, looking back at James.  “So was this all an elaborate plan to see him again?”

James was pretty sure he had just received whiplash from Clint’s change in tone, from bewilderment to accusation.

“What?”

“Was this some way to see Steve?”

James shook his head, eyes wide at Clint’s tone. “No. How could you even suggest that?”

Clint shook his head, looking away from James. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone had used me for themselves,” he muttered, probably not wanting James to have heard him. 

“Hey, Clint, look at me. Please?” James waited for Clint to turn back, and kept his expression open. “I would _never_ use you. Never. It was a coincidence that I was sent to the apartment across from you. A twist of fate. No ulterior motive, no plotting or scheming. Trust me.” James paused, before adding, _pleading_ _for you to believe me_ , “please.”

Clint searched James’s eyes for any signs of lying. Apparently satisfied with James, he blew out a breath, tension visibly lifting from his shoulders.

“Sorry, sorry,” Clint shook his head, wiping at his eyes. “Like I said, I’ve had some bad experiences with people in the past. And it all looks weird, from a certain point of view.”

“Admittedly, yes, it certainly does look like an evil scheme on my part.”

“But it isn’t,” Clint blew out another breath, seeming to talk to himself more than to James. . 

Again, Clint fell silent, staring through James. James tilted his head, watching Clint’s emotion-filled face. “Are you okay?”

Clint shook his head. “No, but what else is new?” Before James could even begin to think about the connotations of  _ that  _ sentence, Clint continued. “I am now the person at this party who knows you the least, and how the hell are we supposed to convince your  _ best friend for forever  _ that we’ve been dating for any substantial period of time  _ without him knowing you were even in the country _ ? Also, how are you so calm over this?”

James decided to deal with that last question first. “One of us have to be. Plus, I'm used to thinking on my feet. We’ll get through this.”

“But how? First, turns out that you worked with my best friend for three months in Russia four years ago. Then, as if that wasn't a big enough hurdle, your best friend since forever walks in, and probably will want to know why you didn't let him know you were in town! And how we've seen enough of each other to be in a serious relationship, while you haven't talked to him in person in almost five years! So please, share with me how you're so freaking calm. Cause I could use some of that calm right about now.”

James moved across the hall, sitting on Clint’s left side and picking up Clint’s hand. He turned his head so he was looking into Clint’s eyes as he spoke, as honestly as he could.  “Because, if I freaked out right now? I'd walk away, right out of the door, and you'll be left to pick up the pieces. And I don’t want to leave you like that.  But, if you trust me, I have a way we could get through this with no one the wiser.”

Clint laughed, shaking his head.  “This'll be good. You know, I haven't gone a month without seeing Steve for the past four years. So whatever explanation you come up with will have to take that into account.”

James nodded, squeezing Clint’s hand. He looked down at their joined hands, thinking through the many options available to him, before a smile fell on his lips. “Occasionally, I've had to come back to America for a couple of weeks at a time, not enough to meet up with Steve, especially since I never had enough warning to let him know. So, on one of those trips, I happened to rent the apartment across from you. You helped me out, getting me food and stuff. We kept in contact over the Internet, and were able to catch up at my next trip here.” James looked up at Clint then, seeing a captive audience. “I kissed you, you kissed me, bippity boppity boop, we’re in a long distance relationship.”

Clint was silent for a moment, before he started nodding. “Woah, that's actually plausible. Are you also a writer? Cause you could be a writer.”

James shrugged a shoulder, glad for the change in Clint’s demeanour.  _ Happy Clint is much better than sad Clint.  _  “I read a lot. Tend to have a lot of spare time in airports. You ready to go back downstairs?”

“No,” Clint said, smiling. “But I'll never be. Let’s get this over with.”

James stood up, pulling Clint up with him. James looked at Clint’s lips, feeling an impulse to kiss them.

_ You really shouldn’t.  _

_ I really should. _

_ Why? _

_ Because it’s the right thing? It  _ feels  _ like the right thing to do right now.  _

Going with his instincts, he leaned in to press a kiss to Clints lips. “It'll be alright,” he whispered against Clint’s  lips, before pulling back.

Clint blinked up at James, staring at him in… the best word that James could come up with was  _ amazement _ . Clint raised his free hand to his lips, before shaking his head.   

“At the very least, it'll be a hilarious story one day,” Clint smiled, looking down at their joined hands, before frowning up at James. “What do I call you?”

“Huh?”

“Well, Steve called you Bucky, and I clearly didn't recognise it.”

James shrugged. “Simple. That's a nickname that Steve gave me. So I didn't feel right using it without him.”

Clint looked at James with what seemed to be admiration in his eyes. “You should be an actor. And a writer. Write yourself a movie, star in it. Make a ton of money.”

“I already make a ton of money.”

“Yeah, don't rub it in or anything.” Clint blew out a breath, nodding to himself. He then swung their hands in between them. “Come on, before I back out of it.”

“I’ve got a hold of you now,” James squeezed Clint’s hand for emphasis. “Not going to let you go anytime soon.”

James would not be able to tell you  _ why  _ he said that, but the look on Clint’s face ( _ hope? Pretty sure that that’s hope)  _ was worth it. 

As he walked back downstairs with Clint, he managed to calm all the thoughts in his head so that only one remained: 

_ This is either going to be a great success, or the most ridiculous failure. There is  _ no _ in between. _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Surprise update is surprising.   
> So we're in uncharted territory now- the 'what do we do now' part was written back in March, and has been what I've been working towards.  
> But now there is no plan.  
> This is either a good or a bad thing.   
> I hope you enjoyed the update, and I'll see you next time


	10. Never get in the way of Scott and his pastry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is confused.  
> Tony tries to help.  
> Natasha helps.  
> Jan is the best.  
> Thor produces the pastry of the gods.  
> Scott is in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place concurrently with the previous one.
> 
> Team dynamics!

_ “Way better than a soap opera,” Scott declared. This time, no one stopped him, all in agreement. _

 

* * *

 

 

Steve stood watching the doorway, phone still against his head.

“You okay there Cap?” Tony eventually asked, after Steve stood there for two minutes without moving.

Steve put down his phone, shaking his head. “What just happened?” Steve held up a hand in Scott’s direction. “And if you utter the words soap opera, I will revoke your pastry privileges.”

Scott slumped down in the couch, holding the pastry close to his chest.

Tony was the one to answer. “I’m honestly not sure.”

Steve turned to Tony, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a first.  _ You _ feeling okay?”

Tony rolled his eyes, pushing Steve’s shoulder. “Hilarious. Seriously though, you okay?”

Steve threw his hands up. “I don’t know! Apparently my best friend, who I haven’t seen in five years, has been in a relationship with  _ Clint  _ of all people.”

“Clint of all people?” Tony echoed.

Steve frowned, looking around the group. “Does anyone remember what Clint said last week?” When everyone shook their heads, Steve sighed. “ ‘I don’t wanna date anyone I just want to take personalized christmas cards with my dog.’ Clint said that last week. What changed?”

“How do you remember that?  _ I  _ don’t remember the stuff I’ve said half the time.”

“Tony, that’s because you say way too much.  _ No one  _ would remember all the stuff you said all the time.”

Tony turned a frown on Steve. “And yet you remembered what Clint said.”

“You’ve got to admit, he has a point,” Jan said, around the bagel in her mouth. “I just looked it up; Clint  _ did  _ say that.”

Tony turned to Jan, a hand on his chest. “Et tu, Jan?”

Jan shrugged, throwing her phone to Tony. (Which he caught, of course; Jan didn’t just trust  _ anyone _ to catch her phone.) He looked down at the phone, frowning. “Fine. Clint didn’t want to date anyone last week. What’s the point?”

“Clint and James have been dating for more than a week,” Carol said, also talking around a mouthful of food. “So Clint was lying?”

“But why would he?” Steve asked, sitting down on the floor in front of where Natasha was sitting. “Why?”

Natasha leant forward, rubbing Steve’s neck. “For what it’s worth, Clint’s serious about this.”

Steve looked back at Natasha. “Yeah?”

Natasha nodded. “Get me another bagel?” After a bite, she continued her explanation to Steve. “Yeah, Clint’s serious. Honestly, I haven’t seen him care this much about someone since… maybe ever.”

“And the comment about not wanting to date anyone?”

Natasha shrugged, bagel in one hand and the other rubbing Steve’s shoulder. “Distraction. Clint, despite all evidence to the contrary, is a shy person. If he doesn’t want you to know something, you won’t know it.”

Steve turned to look at Natasha. “So you’re not worried?”

Natasha shook her head. “And neither should you. They are happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Stop worrying, start eating.” Natasha nodded at the table of food. “You haven’t eaten since getting here, it must be some kind of record.”

“Hilarious,” Steve deadpanned, turning around and picking up a bagel. “I ate on the way over, you know.”

“Still, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you leave food.” Carol rejoined the conversation, smiling at Steve. “You feeling okay?”

“How’d this become about me?” Steve asked, after swallowing his mouthful of bagel.

Carol shrugged, hiding her smile behind her (nearly empty) coffee. Steve was about to reply when Scott sat up suddenly, pointing a pastry at Thor. 

“Hey Thor, did you use a new butter?” 

Thor sat up a bit straighter, smiling. “Indeed I did. Do you approve?”

Scott nodded vigorously. “Yes! Thor, buddy, this is the best pastry you’ve ever made. I think I’m in love.”

“Don’t mind me, just sitting here,” Sam said from beside Scott, giving him not quite a smile. “Not falling in love with just any man who brings me food.”

“Sam, you know that you’re the only man for me,” Scott turned on the couch to face Sam. He offered Sam the second pastry in his hand. “But have you  _ tried  _ the pastry? It’s the best.”

Sam rolled his eyes, standing up and picking up his cup of coffee. “Refills anyone?”

There were too many responses to count; luckily, Jan helped Sam to go and get coffee for everyone.

“Seriously though,  _ Barton  _ was able to hide a relationship?”

Rhodey threw a cushion at Tony. “We’ve moved on.”

“Sorry Honey Bear,” Tony took the pillow, holding it in front of him against Rhodey’s glare. “Still not seeing how  _ Clint  _ hid a relationship.”

“You didn’t question it yesterday.”

“Because I didn’t have all the facts yesterday.”

“So you’re upset because Clint didn’t tell you about a relationship?”

“ _ Us _ . He didn’t tell  _ us _ .” Tony looked around at the group. “This is the one who spent a week telling us  _ in excruciating detail  _ everything that he ate.”

“So?”

“He’s never kept anything to himself.”

“Tony,” Natasha spoke up, looking up at Tony. “Stop. He keeps plenty to himself.”

“You’re saying that he’s acted around us, kept up a personae?”

Natasha nodded in response. 

“But-”

“Tony, darling, drink your coffee,” Jan came back in, holding four cups of coffee. Sam followed her, carrying a more responsible two. “And stop questioning Clint’s motives. He’s Clint, and we love him no matter what he does.”

“Thank you Jan,” Tony took his cup of coffee, as Jan deposited the cups in order to get more. 

“Whatever Clint’s reasons for not telling us,” Jan said as she brought in the remaining cups. “It was his decision, and we had no problems yesterday. There’s no reason for us to have a problem today.”

“This is why you’re everybody’s favourite,” Tony said as Jan at down beside him. She smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“I know.”

“Pepper’s still snowed in,” Natasha said, looking at her phone. “She apologises for not being able to make it.”

“It’s not her fault it snowed,” Steve said, looking over at Tony. “Nor her fault that she works in such a poorly designed building.”

Tony frowned at Steve over the top of his coffee. “I didn’t design the building. Not my fault.”

Steve held up his hands. “I know, I know.” Steve turned back to face Natasha, who was still typing on her phone, a smile on her face. “How is Pepper?”

Natasha looked up as though she had just realised she was not alone in the room. “Huh?”

Steve smiled knowingly. “Pepper. She good?”

“Yeah, she’s good,” Natasha put her phone down, picking up her coffee. “Though I suspect my silence said that?”

Steve nodded. “It might have.”

“I’m not going to apologise.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to.”

Natasha opened her mouth to reply, when another voice entered into the conversation.

“Why does Nat have to apologise?”

All eyes turned to Clint, who was standing in the doorway of the room, James by his side. The pair were holding hands. 

“Uh, hi?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One year.  
> Today officially marks one year since I posted the first chapter of this fic.  
> And we've progressed... two days. Almost.  
> Thank you to everyone who has stuck around, and to those just finding the fic now.  
> It really is a fun verse to write in.
> 
> I don't know about you, but this is how my group of friends interact- there's quite a few of us, but we still keep conversations as a group. If that makes sense.  
> Steve's confused, and I'm certain that the confusion won't go away anytime soon.  
> Thor makes the best pastry. No question.  
> What, you think Scott proclaims his love over any old pastry?
> 
> Should I have prepared a nice big update featuring Clint & James? Probably. But that would imply that I didn't realise the anniversary was today, yesterday.  
> I'm... 60% through planning out the rest of this fic.  
> No update in February- I wrote a lot of Winterhawk though, if you want to check it out.
> 
> I've also updated "First Meetings"- if you want to see Sam meeting Cassie for the first time, or you like cute fic, you might wanna check it out.
> 
> Really long notes but it's an anniversary- if any chapter deserved them, it was this one.
> 
> Again, thank you for sticking with me through this adventure. It is a lot of fun to write, and I love seeing everyone's reactions to each update.  
> And I love your speculation! I love talking about this fic. And every email notification of a new comment makes me smile, guaranteed. 
> 
> Still on tumblr- jenjo93. Come say hi, or lurk. Up to you.
> 
> Until next time
> 
> :D


	11. Twisting plots and changing narratives are fun for the author

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, I got one. It was when I was fourteen. There was this bully, who just would not stop picking fights.”  
> “No…” Steve trailed off, eyes wide at James. “No, no, no. You are not telling them that story.”  
> “Why not?”  
> “Cause it’s not embarrassing for you, is it?”  
> James shrugged a shoulder, picking up a croissant. “She didn’t say it had to be my embarrassing story, did she?”  
> When Steve opened his mouth to reply, James threw the croissant. It hit Steve’s forehead.  
> “Now I really want to hear this story,” Clint said to James, who winked (winked!) at him.  
> “I’ll tell you later, babe. OW!” James frowned, rubbing his head where Steve had thrown the croissant back at him. “Why?”  
> Steve shrugged, looking smug. “You threw it at me first, jerk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!

 

“We got this,” Clint muttered to himself, for the tenth time since he started down the stairs. He could see James’s smile out of the corner of his eye.  

“We got this.” James squeezed Clint’s hand. “Why are you so worried?”

“Not worried,” Clint shook his head. “Positive reinforcement.”

“Uh huh.”

Clint looked at James out of the corner of his eye again; he had an amused expression on his face. “You don’t sound convinced.”

James shrugged, turning his head to smile at Clint. “Probably because I’m not.”

Clint turned a slight frown on James. “Thought you were on my side.”

“I am darling,” James smiled again, squeezing Clint’s hand. “Don’t doubt that.”

Clint smiled at that, stopping at the edge of the room and taking a deep breath.

“You ready?” James asked, looking towards the room. 

Clint nodded. “Subtle. We can do this,” Clint said, before stepping forward into the room. 

“I’m not going to apologise.” 

_ Natasha, smiling. Good, good.  _

“Wouldn’t expect you too.” 

_ Steve? Are they talking about me? _

Clint was only slightly confused by the conversation. “Why does Nat have to apologise?”

All eyes in the room turned to the pair standing in the doorway. 

Clint sighed internally;  _ way to be subtle Barton. _

“Uh, hi?”

“Hi,” Natasha answered him, looking down briefly at the entwined hands before smiling at Clint again. “I’m not apologising for having a girlfriend that I love.”

“Oh, that,” Clint released a breath that he hadn’t realised he had been holding;  _ guess I just assumed it was about me _ .

Clint took his spot on the couch again, James by his side; Steve’s eyes staying on the pair did not go unnoticed by either man.

“Do you have something to say Rogers?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow at Steve.

Steve looked between the pair again, before holding up his hands. “No, no. Nothing to say.”

“You have never in your life had nothing to say,” James said, around a bagel.

(No one could resist the food, apparently.)

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Steve said, before taking in James’s unimpressed expression. “I said a bit.”

“A bit,” James muttered, rolling his eyes. “The Pope is a bit Catholic.”

“Is this what it’s like watching me talk to Cap?” Tony leant over to ask Jan, who waved a hand in his face.

“Shush.”

Steve was laughing, shaking his head in amusement. “Don’t hold back or anything.”

James opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted. 

“New topic!” Scott clapped his hands; in one, a cup of coffee, in the other, another pastry. 

“We all know you love Thor,” Sam muttered from beside Scott. Scott turned to stick his tongue out at Sam, before facing the room again. 

“Ignore him. Now, new topic.”

“Nothing illegal,” Sam added.

“NEW TOPIC,” Scott cleared his throat, waving Sam off with the hand holding the pastry. ‘Well, anyone?”

“Did you just interrupt the room to ask the room for a new topic of conversation?” James asked.

Scott nodded. “The new guy gets it.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re no longer the new guy,” Carol helpfully provided. 

Scott rolled his eyes. “It’s been five years since I was the new guy; can I stop being the new guy now?”

“Since there is  _ actually a new guy, _ ” Carol tipped her head at James. “I suppose so. Now you’re back to Ant Man.”

Scott’s eyes went wide, before he slumped down in the couch. “No. Not again.”

“Again?” James asked Clint, who nodded.

“Ant Man. It’s quite the story.”

“No it’s not,” Scott called, frowning at Clint. “It’s really not.”

“It really is,” Clint confirmed. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Oh my god, you two are so adorably cute. It’s sickening.”

“Hate to burst your bubble Lang, but you were the same,” Carol smiled at him. 

Scott shook his head. “No I wasn’t.”

The entire room turned to give Scott a Look. “Yes you were.”

“Yes.”

“So sickening.”

Scott held up his hands, leaning forward to put his empty coffee cup on the table. “Fine, fine, I get it. I’m  _ adorable _ , I can live with that, I suppose. What do you think babe?”

“I think when you said new topic, this is not what I expected,” Sam muttered, before turning to the room as a whole. “I’m taking Cassie ice-skating-”

“ _ We _ ,” Scott added, but Sam continued on.

“-What’s everyone else doing today?”

“Interrogating Barton,” Tony said immediately, before Jan pushed his arm. “Ow Jan, what was that for?”

Jan gave him a  _ look _ . “You know exactly what.”

“Fine,” Tony rolled his eyes. “Snow’s gonna be cleared by lunchtime, for those of you with jobs and such.”

“You hear that Lucky?” Clint sat up, letting go of James’s hand to pet Lucky, who had come over to sit at Clint’s feet. “We’re going home! No more rich people house!”

Lucky lapped up the attention.

“You ever think about being a comic babe?”

Clint froze momentarily, before turning his head to look at James. James’s eyes were staring straight into his soul. 

Clint shook his head forcing out a laugh. “Nah I’m good.”

“That you are.”

“Alright new guy, pay up.”

James looked at Carol, raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Cute tax,” Carol shrugged a shoulder. “We instituted it….”

“For you and Rhodey,” Tony explained. “You two were  _ terrible _ .”

Carol rolled her eyes, putting an arm around Rhodey’s shoulders and kissing his cheek. “Too bad Stark. Point is new guy,  _ cute tax _ .”

Clint gave James an apologetic expression. “Sorry. I didn’t think it’d apply.”

“All good,” James smiled at Clint, before turning to Carol. “Cost?”

“An embarrassing story.”

The smile on James’s face was pure evil. 

“Oh, I got one. It was when I was fourteen. There was this bully, who just would not stop picking fights.”

“No…” Steve trailed off, eyes wide at James. “No, no, no. You are  _ not  _ telling them that story.”

“Why not?”

“Cause it’s not embarrassing for  _ you,  _ is it?”

James shrugged a shoulder, picking up a croissant. “She didn’t say it had to be  _ my  _ embarrassing story, did she?”

When Steve opened his mouth to reply, James threw the croissant. It hit Steve’s forehead.

“Now I  _ really  _ want to hear this story,” Clint said to James, who winked ( _ winked! _ ) at him.

“I’ll tell you later, babe. OW!” James frowned, rubbing his head where Steve had thrown the croissant back at him. “Why?”

Steve shrugged, looking smug. “You threw it at me first, jerk.”

“You little punk.”

Clint slid off of the couch, joining Lucky on the floor as James and Steve continued their “argument”, with an avid audience. 

(There was no venom behind it; if anything, Clint enjoyed watching the easy interaction between the pair.)

He curled around Lucky, tilting his head up so he could watch James. Every so often, James would look down and send Clint a private wink, or smile, just for Clint’s eyes. And each time, Clint was glad his was hidden from the view of his friends by Lucky.

(Clint could practically  _ feel  _ the blush on his cheeks). 

_ Aww, feelings, no. _

 

* * *

 

Sam and Scott were the first to leave, at eleven-

 

         “Cassie really loves ice skating.” 

         “You just love showing off.”

         “Yeah, it’s  _ hilarious  _ how you can’t skate Scott. At all.”

         “Rude. So rude.”

 

Carol and Rhodey left soon after- 

 

         “Some of us  _ do  _ work, you know.”

“Can’t all be rich people with jobs that don’t require them to work weekends.”

 

At around the same time, Thor and Steve both got calls to head into work. 

Steve had been reluctant to leave, until James had all but pushed him out the door.

 

“You won’t disappear right?”

“I’m not going anywhere Steve. I will call you later alright?”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now go save a kitten from a tree or something.”

“Save… do you even  _ know _ where I work?”

“No, I do not. But you should probably leave before they fire you for being late.”

 

Steve had shaken his head, hugging James again before leaving with Thor. 

That left Jan, Tony, Natasha, Clint, and James. 

Natasha, who had been on her phone most of the morning, frowned at the room. “Now how am I meant to get to Pepper?”

“And how are we leaving?” James asked Clint, who shrugged. 

“Natasha, you guys can use my car,” Jan offered. “I’m staying here for the afternoon anyway, you can drop it off again after you see Pepper.”

Clint frowned at Jan. “Didn’t you come here with Carol and Rhodey?”

Jan nodded. “Yeah, but my car was here anyway.”

“Why?”

“I was fixing it,” Tony smiled, bending down to say goodbye to Lucky. “Isn’t that right pizza dog?”

Lucky barked at Tony.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be worried by that statement  _ at all _ ,” Clint said to Natasha, who shrugged.

“I’m not worried, I trust Stark.”

“Why would you do  _ that _ ?” Tony asked as he stood up, wiping dog hair on his pants. “Terrible decision, really.”

Clint turned to James, holding out his hands. “See what I have to put up with?”

James smiled, pulling Clint closer to him by the waist. “I don’t know how you put up with it.”

“It is a terrible burden,” Clint could not take his eyes off of James, who was likewise mesmerised.

Natasha clearing her throat caused them both to shake their heads and look at their company. 

“I too have someone I would like to stare into the eyes of,” Natasha reached out to poke Clint’s ribs, causing him to move closer to James. “Shall we?”

James let go of Clint in order to offer his hand to Jan. “Nice to see you again.”

Jan took one look at the hand, before opening her arms. “You’re family James, we hug.”

James laughed at that, stepping forward in order to hug Jan. “Your approval is everything to me Jan.”

Jan shot a smile at Clint. “This one is a keeper Clint.”

“Yeah, I know,” Clint had that goofy smile again. 

“Come on lovebirds, let’s go, before you get lost in each other’s eyes or something,” Natasha spoke as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. “Tony, always nice to see you.”

“I suppose I’ll see you around,” Tony shrugged his shoulders. “You always end up surprising me.”

Natasha smiled. “Come on Lucky.” 

When Lucky came to her side, she opened the door and headed out to the garage, Lucky by her side the entire way.

“Thanks Tony,” Clint offered, Tony waving a hand. 

“What, like I was going to kick you all out after a snowstorm snowed us in. What do you take me for?”

Clint smiled, turning to the coat rack. He lifted a scarf off of the rack and put it around James’s neck. “Perfect.”

“The silver really brings out your eyes,” Tony observed, Jan nodding at his side.

James lifted up to get another scarf off of the rack, putting it around Clint’s neck. “And purple suits you.”

“Well, yeah, but that we knew,” Tony muttered, before Jan elbowed him in the side.

“Safe travels,” she smiled, opening the door for the pair. 

Clint took James’s hand, leading him out to the driveway, where Natasha was waiting with the car. 

“Be prepared,” Clint spoke as they walked to the car. “She’s probably going to try and get information out of you. Anything you say or don’t say will be used against you at a later date.”

“Funny,” James replied, not seeming concerned. “She’s not that bad.”

“I am going to remind you that you said that when we get home.” Clint paused as he opened the car door, realising what he just said. “Uh…”

James slid into the car without a word. Clint awkwardly followed, taking two attempts to close the door.

“Uh…” Clint rubbed his neck, not knowing how to defuse the situation.

_ Maybe he didn’t hear you? _

_ Maybe it isn’t as big a deal for him? _

_ Maybe ‘home’ doesn’t have the same connotations for him? _

_ Maybe…? _

_ Maybe…? _

“Clint, stop thinking so much.”

Clint shook his head, frowning at Natasha in the rearview mirror. “Excuse me?”

Natasha rolled her eyes, but kept them on the wheel. “You have been in this car for almost five minutes without a word,  _ and  _ you are not holding James’s hand. Way Sam tells it, you couldn’t keep your eyes off of him on the way over.”

Clint looked at James, who raised an eyebrow at him, extending his hand. Clint looked at it and instantly took it. 

“Sorry Natasha,” Clint muttered, poking his tongue out when James laughed at him.

“He laughs at my jokes, good.”

“Was hardly a joke,” Clint pointed out.

Natasha shrugged. “Close enough. I never asked, did you both get a good night’s sleep?”

“Considering I am still suffering from jet lag, it was perfect,” James answered first. “The bed wasn’t bad either.”

“Yes, Tony has much better beds than Clint does.”

“Nothing wrong with Clint’s bed.”

Natasha, stopped at a red light, made eye contact with Clint in the rearview mirror. “Clint?”

Clint shrugged, nodding at the road. “Eyes on the road Natasha.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, but focused back on the road. 

James looked at Clint. “Alright?”

Clint made a seesaw motion with his other hand, before turning to glare out of the window. “Later.”

James nodded, turning to look at Natasha. “So, Natasha, what is your plan for today?”

“Save my girlfriend from her office,” Natasha smiled. “It’s not a very nice office. Well, she likes it well enough. I, on the other hand, do not.”

“And she spent the night in there?”

“Yup. She deserves a break. She works in Tony’s company, has lots of minions she can boss around.”

“Sounds nice.”

Natasha nodded. “She likes it well enough. Well, except for the galas.”

“Galas?”

“Long story. Maybe when you meet her, you can ask her about them.”

“Huh?” Clint frowned at Natasha. “What?”

“When James meets Pepper,” Natasha explained. “They are going to meet sooner or later, are they not?”

“I guess,” Clint muttered, resuming his glaring out of the window. 

“Not talkative this morning Clint?”

Clint didn’t bother replying, continuing to glare at the window. 

“He hasn’t had enough coffee yet,” James answered. “I’ll fix that when we get home, we bought some fresh coffee yesterday.”

“Ah, so you have met Loki then.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh nothing,” Natasha smiled as she turned a corner. “I’m sure you’ll understand one day.”

“I am getting that impression, yes.”

Natasha pulled the car into an empty space in front of Clint’s building. She turned off the engine, and turned to face James. “James, would you mind if I talk to him for a moment alone?”

James squeezed Clint’s hand; when Clint didn’t turn around, James let go and nodded at Natasha. “I’ll take Lucky up then. It was nice to see you again.”

“You too.” Natasha watched James get out of the car, taking Lucky with him. She then removed her keys from the ignition, and moved into the back seat of the car, leaning against the door and facing Clint. 

“What is wrong.”

It wasn’t a question, and Clint knew that. He watched James take Lucky into the apartment, watched him spare a glance at Clint before closing the door behind him. Clint couldn’t even muster up a  _ fake  _ smile for him. 

Clint closed his eyes as he took off his seat belt, moving to lean against the car door. He opened them to see Natasha staring at him.

“What?”

Natasha stretched one leg to poke Clint’s thigh. “You were glaring out the window.”

“You made assumptions.”

“Did I?”

Clint gave Natasha an unimpressed look.  

“What did I assume?”

Clint opened his mouth, before closing it and shaking his head. He lifted his hands, and began signing. 

‘You assumed we slept together.’

Natasha’s lips twisted to the side. ‘I did not’.

Clint rolled his eyes. ‘Did.’

Natasha closed her eyes for a moment, taking a moment to breath. “Clint,” she spoke, as well as signed. “I did not mean to, and you know it. I would not assume that.”

Clint reached up to rub at his eyes. “Tasha, why am I like this? Why is it so hard?”

Natasha waited for Clint to open his eyes before replying. “Because you are  _ you _ ; I wouldn’t love you if you were anyone else. And neither would James.”

Clint nodded at that, shaking his head again. “I’m not hugging you in here. Please get out of the car so I can hug you properly.”

Natasha smiled at that, getting out of the car as Clint did. She moved to the sidewalk, holding her arms open as Clint collapsed into them. 

“It will all work out the way it is meant to,” she said as she rubbed Clint’s back.

_ That’s what I’m afraid of _ , Clint thought as he hugged Natasha.   _ I’m not meant to get good things. And this thing with James is not  _ meant  _ to be real. It’s all pretend.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> I've finished Uni! Forever! Yay!  
> I ended kind of angsty here, haven't I? Hmm, wonder what that apartment will be like when Clint gets up there?  
> Future plans:  
> I think there's 1 or 2 chapters left of this fic.   
> But don't fear, there will be a sequel. That's pretty much set up and ready to write.  
> I promise it won't be another three months.
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me, and see you next time  
> *\o/*


	12. Banging against the inside of your head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to find out what James is thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics= James's thoughts.

Natasha pulled the car into an empty space in front of Clint’s building. She turned off the engine, and turned to face James. “James, would you mind if I talk to him for a moment alone?”

James watched the back of Clint’s head, squeezing his hand to try and get a response. When Clint continued to look out the window, James let go, breathing out a sigh.

He turned to nod at Natasha. “I’ll take Lucky up.” Then, because it felt like the right thing to say. “It was nice to see you again.”

 

_Not the part where you thought I was using Clint, but in general._

 

“You too.” Her smile didn’t look completely genuine, but James figured it was the best he was going to get. He coaxed Lucky out of the car, making his way to the apartment door. Before heading up the steps, as Lucky relieved himself, James turned back to space a glance back at the car. Clint was still glaring out of the window, probably didn’t even _see_ James.

Once Lucky was done, James entered the apartment building, not sparing a second glance at Clint.

 

 _Something is wrong with him,_ James thought as he ascended the staircase, following Lucky. _The Clint that is in that car is not the same Clint that I know._

 _What do you know about him? You have known the man a day and a half; how do_ you _know what is normal?_

_I know what is normal from what I have seen._

_Have you seen Clint upset? Angry? Tired? Nervous? Happy? What kind of measurement are you using?_

 

James shook his head, rubbing at his forehead; he was _not_ interested in arguing with himself right now.

It was only when he got to Clint’s apartment, Lucky sitting and waiting, that he realised he didn’t have a key.

 

_Some boyfriend you are; don’t even have a key to his apartment._

_Probably a good thing that this is all pretend then._

 

James sat down beside Lucky, leaning back against the door. He absent-mindedly reached up for his shoulder, rubbing at the prosthetic over the top of his jacket. It quieted the voice in his head, for now at least.

“Can I help you?”

James looked up, startled at the new voice. His arm instantly fell to his side, the reflex of hiding the prosthetic too ingrained in him to stop now. “Sorry?”

“You certainly aren’t Clint, and that is most definitely Lucky.” At his name, the dog got up to greet this newcomer. “Hello Lucky, where is that owner of yours?”

“Talking to Natasha, in her car,” James supplied, standing up and offering the person a smile.

 

_If Lucky recognises her, then she is probably good._

_And what if she’s not?_

 

“Name’s James.” And if James spoke a little louder than normal to drown out his inner voice? Well, this person wouldn’t know, would she? “Clint let me crash in his place. Your landlord gave me the wrong key.”

“Ha, he will do that.” Her laugh told James that this was not a one off occurrence with this landlord. “My name is Nora, I live next door to Clint. If he is talking to Natasha?” Nora tilted her head to the side. “Could be a while. Care for a drink while you wait? I got water for Lucky in there.”

James nodded, following Nora into her apartment, Lucky keeping pace with Nora. “Just got back from my run, must have passed the car on my way up.”

“Must have,” James agreed, closing the door behind them. Lucky seemed to know his way around, trotting straight up to a water bowl in the kitchen.

Nora saw his eye line, and laughed. “Yeah, Lucky has spent some time here. Sometimes Clint has to go out without much notice, you know?” James didn’t immediately reply; _how would you know?_

His lack of response did not seem to phase Nora, who continued the conversation as though there had not been a pause. “Anyways, what brought you to this _fine establishment_ of ours?”

The way she said ‘fine establishment’ made James chuckle. “Got arranged by my boss; I have been travelling, and wanted a couple of days to re-acclimate before facing my family again.”

“Makes sense,” Nora nodded, opening her fridge. “I have… water, orange juice, and…” she pulled out a bottle of pepsi, squinting at it. “Ah, this _might_  be out of date. So water or orange juice?”

“Water is great, thanks.”

“Take a seat,” Nora gestured to a kitchen stool, which James sat on as she poured him a glass of water. “I have texted Clint, so he will know that you are here and not think you ran away with Lucky or something.”

“Or something,” James smiled, drinking his water. “So, you lived here long?”

“About as long as Clint,” Nora shrugged, patting Lucky when he came to sit at her side. “It is cheap, you know? Allows me to live alone, be independent. The landlord sucks, but we look out for our own.”

“That is always a good thing. When I’m in the state, I live at home. Never had a reason to move out, especially since I work away a lot of the time.” James surprised himself at how honest he was being with Nora- there was just _something_ about her that made him open up to her.

 

_Maybe you are emotionally drained and want to unload?_

_Maybe you have finally realised that bottling up all of your emotions is not healthy for you?_

_Maybe it is the purple hair._

_It is most likely the purple hair. It_ is _a great colour._

 

Nora nodded, unaware of James’s internal monologue (and if she _was_ aware, she didn’t show any signs of being so). “I get you. If you aren’t living here, what’s the point of owning a place.”

“Are you a therapist?” James blurted out without even thinking, before he held up a hand when Nora laughed. “It’s just, I’ve met more than a few, and you fit the type.”

Nora nodded. “Yes, I am. Kind of. Therapy dogs, mostly. It’s rewarding, in it’s own special way.”

“Special way?”

“She means the dogs poop all over her apartment.”

James turned at Clint’s voice; he walked through Nora’s apartment without any sign of whatever had been troubling him before.

Nora smiled at Clint, tilting her head slightly. “You would know all about that wouldn’t you?”

Clint stuck his tongue out at Nora as he greeted Lucky. “Hilarious. I almost didn’t get your text- my phone died just after I read it.”

Nora rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked back at James. “His phone’s _always_ doing that. Probably a concern.”

“Probably a concern,” Clint muttered, stepping towards the door. “Always a pleasure Nora. James….” Clint’s face closed off, and he gestured to the wall of the apartment. “I’ll be in mine, whenever you want to come back. Lucky, home.”

James watched Clint leave, Lucky following behind him. When he looked back at Nora, she had a knowing expression on her face.

“What?”

Nora shrugged a shoulder. “I saw the way his face changed when he said you name. Something has happened between you two. Feel like sharing with someone who does not know you?”

James blew out a breath, running his hand through his hair. “You’re going to think it’s stupid.”

Nora raised an eyebrow at him, hooking her leg into a nearby stool and pulling it closer. “Now I’m _interested._ Feel free to say no.”

James shook his head. “No, I think part of the problem might be that I _haven’t_ talked about it, not even with myself.” James closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them and staring at his glass. “I met Clint two days ago, an unusual chain of events led to me agreeing to pretend to be his boyfriend. I saw my best friend, and lied to him for the first time in my life. Everyone thinks me and Clint are this perfect couple and…. _Urgh_!” James threw up his hand, looking at Nora. “A mess.”

Nora nodded, eyes wide. “Yes, that sounds like a mighty fine mess you have got yourself in. Why did you say yes?”

“Huh?”

“Why did you agree to be Clint’s boyfriend?”

James frowned at Nora. “I, uh… I don’t know. It _seemed_ like the right thing to do at the time.”

“And now?”

“And now…” James trailed off, rubbing at his forehead. “And now I _think_ something’s wrong. It was all going well, at least _I_ thought so, until the car ride home. Which I suspect is why Clint and Natasha had their talk.” James shrugged again, not knowing what else to say.

Nora watched him for a moment, before continuing. “So what are you going to do now?”

James shrugged, twisting his lips to the side.

Nora leant her head on a hand, watching James. “It is a tricky situation you have got yourself into, Mr James. And I don’t think there’s anything I can help you with. You are going to have to  figure it out for yourself.”

James nodded, offering Nora a semblance of a smile. “Thanks for listening?”

“Anytime, Mr James. Now or in the future- here, enter your number, I will be happy to listen to you rant.”

James entered his number- _hope it’s still connected_ \- and slid it back to Nora. “If it’s disconnected, I’ll send you a letter with my new number.”

“A letter, how quaint,” Nora smiled, waving her phone at James. “The message didn’t bounce back; your number’s active. Now, I _did_ just go for a run, so I would like to have a shower; feel free to stay for as long as you need, just lock the door if you leave, okay?”

James nodded. “Understood.”

Once Nora had gone into her bathroom, James let his head hit the countertop, groaning slightly.

 

_Mess, you are a mess._

_Shut up._

_Got a better word?_

_…_

_That is what I thought. You are a mess, James Barnes._

_Well what is your plan?_

_Go and tell the man you love him._

_I don’t love him._

_Oh?_

_It isn’t love. No, not love._

_Oh?_

_I don’t know_ what _love is. But I don’t think this is it._

_Then you want to sleep with him? That kind of love?_

_That isn’t love either. I thought you were meant to be the_ smart _voice in my head._

_Well apparently I’m not always right._

_Nice to hear you admit that._

_Shut up. What are you going to do?_

_I still don’t know._

 

“Urgh,” James hit his head against the countertop again. “Urgh, stupid.”

“I don’t know if banging your head on my table is going to  help you.”

James rolled his head, cheek against the countertop; Nora was smiling at him, hair wrapped in a towel.

“That was a quick shower.”

Nora shook her head. “Not really; it was over half an hour.”

James closed his eyes. “Not again.”

“Losing time is common for you?”

James nodded against the countertop. “Unfortunately. Thought I had it under control; apparently not.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nora came over, rubbed a hand over James’s right shoulder briefly. “Like I said before; you can stay as long as you need.”

James nodded again. “Maybe five more minutes.”

“Would you like me to set a timer for you?”

James considered this for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah, that’d be great, thanks.”

“No problem,” Nora came over, kitchen timer in hand. The soft ticking noise kept James from drifting too far into his own thoughts. He was so focused on the ticking, that he didn’t even _think_ of Clint.

So when the five minutes were up, he was no closer to knowing what to do. He stood up anyway, thanking Nora for her hospitality.

“Good luck,” she had smiled, waving at him as he left the apartment. He walked the couple of metres to Clint’s apartment, and stood outside the door, facing it.

He lifted his hand, and held it there for a few moments, still not convinced as to _what_ his next move would be.

 

_Just knock on the door. Or stand out here for another half an hour. Just make up your mind one way or the other._

 

James closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't even a month! Yay!  
> Hello again.  
> So.... James.... am I right? He's not too sure what to think of everything.  
> Is it because Clint is the kind of guy James would date, but this convoluted 'fake dating' thing makes it all murky and confusing? Possibly.
> 
> Nora- wasn't it nice of her to let James vent? Nora is an OC of mine from the 'To Live' series. In that, she does not have purple hair. 
> 
> What is waiting for James on the other side of that door? Who knows?
> 
> And yes, there is only one more chapter left. But then the sequel will happen. Exciting, right?
> 
> Until next time  
> :)


End file.
